Fate
by Star Polaris
Summary: Complete Sequel to The Betrayal. What are the sixth year Gryffindors doing in Greenings? What will Ron, Harry and Hermione do about it?
1. After Harry

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fates  
  
Dear Sirius,  
  
I'm very sorry to be leaving like this, but we can't stay any longer for now. Ron is not longer comfortable around his family and Hermione just wishes to be with us. After thinking about the matter for a long time, I think my presence will only make you unhappy, interfering with the friendship you share with my parents. Thinking about how important that friendship has always been to you I think it's only fair that I leave you with it rather than having a troubled godson hanging around you. I promise we will meet again since Hermione, Ron and I plan to take our last year at Hogwarts, so don't worry. Please, try to explain to my parents about the parselmouth, I'm sorry I couldn't bring myself to stay and explain it. Say hello to Moony, and tell him I hope to see him soon.  
  
I guess this is a goodbye, even if it will only be for a few months. Remember that I love you like I would have loved my father had he been alive, and don't blame yourself for things that are out of your control.  
  
Dragon (aka, Harry Potter.)  
  
After reading the letter for the third time, Sirius crumbled it in his hand and threw it to a corner of the headmaster's office. He could hear the Weasleys talking softly to each other but right now he didn't care. He was torn inside between anger at his best friends and at his godson, the first ones for being so stupid to doubt the boy without asking questions and at Harry for leaving him now. He could understand the boy's reasoning, but he wasn't sure he agreed with him at all. Before he got to know Harry he would probably not have minded that much, but now he knew that his godson was a part of him he couldn't miss. He had lived so long without James and Lily, he had long ago buried them in his heart and even if he was glad they were back he just couldn't accept them if Harry was not there, it just didn't feel right. A soft hand on his shoulder broke his line of thought. He looked up and saw Remus standing next to him, a sad look on his face. The werewolf gave him back the letter and Sirius took it without a word. Everyone stayed in silence for a while, the Weasleys, knowing they couldn't do anything else, left the office to get ready to go back home. The only remaining people in the room were Remus, Sirius and Dumbledore. Lily and James had gone to their new rooms to get some rest, not wanting to hear anything about what they called their fake son. When Sirius had heard this it had taken all of Remus's strength to keep him from sending both Potters to their graves once again. Remus had been able to drag him to Dumbledore's office to calm him down, and there the headmaster had told them the bad news.  
  
After a long silence, Sirius looked up to Dumbledore, who was sipping from his cup. "Headmaster, I will be leaving the castle too, I don't want to stay here for now."  
  
Dumbledore nodded in understanding and then looked at Remus. "I hope you will stay, Remus? The kids really like you as their defence teacher."  
  
The werewolf smiled sadly at his friend but nodded. "Of course headmaster. Besides, someone has to talk some sense into Lily and James."  
  
Sirius looked at him somewhat gratefully, if the Potters were going to listen to someone, that would be Remus. With a small sigh he stood up and embraced his friend warmly. "Thanks Moony."  
  
"You're welcome Padfoot, I love Harry too, you know?"  
  
"I know."  
  
Both men parted and Sirius began to walk to the door. "Sirius!"  
  
The man turned. "Yes, Remus?"  
  
"Owl me. And say hello to Harry for me"  
  
Sirius smiled gently at him. "I will."  
  
And with those last words, Sirius walked out of the room. While going to his room he began to think about the best way to find them. He suddenly remembered the conversation they had had that morning. Hermione had told Lily they were going to a school named Greenings. With a small smile, he ran the rest of the way to his room. Even if he didn't know where exactly they lived, he knew which school they attended, that would made it all much easier. Now he only needed to find the school.  
  
The next morning, he woke up in his room in the Leaky Cauldron. After having had a light breakfast he paid Tom and walked out of the bar onto muggle London to start his search. It barely took him a few hours to find out where exactly the school was, he was somewhat shocked to find out it was very exclusive and only the smartest kids could go there. It didn't surprise him from Hermione, he couldn't expect less from her, but Harry and Ron had never been that interested in their studies. It seemed that bonding thing they had explained the day before really had affected them more than Sirius thought possible. Knowing that school wouldn't start for a few more days, Sirius rented a small apartment and settled comfortably in it, accepting it as a little holiday and also giving him the time to think about all things that had been happening for the few last days.  
  
To be continued...  
  
A/N: Well folks, here it begins again, the sequel to The Betrayal, I hope you all enjoy it. 


	2. Muggle school

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fates  
  
A sharp sound woke her up that morning, the first day of school after the Christmas holidays. Phoenix stretched out and stood up, making her way out of the room and to the bathroom. She was always the first to wake up, since the boys and her had to share a bathroom they had early on decided to put up a schedule so there would not be any fights. When she came out, after having showered and changed in her green uniform, she saw Harry leaning sleepily against the door to his room, waiting patiently for her to come out. The boy smiled gently at her, stifling a yawn. "Good morning, Phoenix."  
  
The girl returned his smile. "Good morning Dragon. Did you sleep well?"  
  
"Yeah, fine."  
  
Harry moved to the bathroom and was about to close the door when Hermione called him again. "Dragon."  
  
The boy pecked from inside the bathroom. "Yes?"  
  
"Remember it's your turn to wake Griffin."  
  
Hermione laughed when she heard Harry groan, and before he could reply, she started to walk down the stairs. Ron had changed much since they had left Hogwarts more then a year ago, but getting him up at mornings was still one of the hardest challenges.  
  
Once downstairs, she saw Professor VilljÃ© making breakfast, having a bathroom on her own, she didn't have the problems they had. Her guardian looked up when she came in and Hermione went to give her a hug as she did every morning.  
  
"Good morning, Professor."  
  
"Morning, Phoenix. Are the boys up?"  
  
Hermione smiled and sank into a chair, picking up a book. "Dragon is in the bathroom, and he will wake Griffin up."  
  
The woman looked a little wearily at the book her young charge was reading, over the holidays she had grown somewhat used to the concept of the magical world. The three of them had even taken her to Diagon Alley to buy some books, still it was a little too much to take in at once. Suddenly they heard a cry from upstairs and a few moments later, Harry came down looking pleased.  
  
"Good morning, professor."  
  
The boy hugged her gently and went to sit next to Hermione, who looked up from her book briefly. "What did you do to Griffin, Dragon?"  
  
Harry shrugged innocently. "He just didn't wake up, I had to use a little persuasion. Besides, we are already running a little late and so I spared him the shower."  
  
Hermione gapped at him. "You didn't!"  
  
An annoyed voice came to the kitchen. "He did. And if you ever throw a pitcher full of ice cold water on me again, Dragon, you will regret it."  
  
Harry just smiled at his friend while Professor VilljÃ© put their breakfast before them. "Of course, Griffin, I don't doubt it."  
  
Twenty minutes later they were finished, professor VilljÃ© went up the stairs to change while the teenagers cleaned up the kitchen. They all met again at the front door and walked out.  
  
Professor VilljÃ© needed to be at the school earlier and so she left with the car while the three teenagers preferred to walk all the way to the school. On the way, their classmates often greeted them. They really didn't have any close friend, besides themselves, still they were well liked and had got somewhat of a reputation by defending the younger students from the bullies that were in the school.  
  
Sirius woke up earlier than he had meant to, he had planed to go to the school when it got out, knowing else he would be waiting there for a long time, sadly he was now awake and he didn't seem to be able to go back to sleep. Giving up, Sirius got dressed and walked out of the room to get a late breakfast. After having finished his coffee, he pondered what he should do then. He thought about different possibilities but finally gave up, knowing he wouldn't be able to concentrate, and started to walk towards the school.  
  
When he arrived, he noticed people walking through the grounds, sitting in small groups eating lunch. His heart gave a small leap, maybe Harry was out there. Without a second thought, he ducked into an alley and turned back into Padfoot. Then he walked slowly around and finally manages to sneak into the school through a small hole. He was happy there were that many bushes around, giving students their privacy, else he would have had a hard time keeping hidden. Even so, it was hard to walk around, he was much to big. Sighing, he laid down between some bushes and rested his head on his front pawns, considering what he should do next.  
  
Unexpectedly he heard a small scream coming from a shadowed spot near him. Listening more carefully he could hear voices talking, he didn't like the tone of the voices in the least and decided to go investigate. The sight that greeted Padfoot angered him. Three big boys, probably around fifteen years old, were standing over a small girl. The girl was crying softly while the boy standing in the middle showed her a clenched fist menacingly. Padfoot's instincts took over, he readied himself to launch his heavy body onto the boys, when a calm voice broke the tension and make everyone look away. Standing opposite from where he was hiding, Padfoot saw the small form of his godson looking calmly at the scene that was playing in front of him. The small girl gave a small delighted cry and launched herself on Harry. The boy hugged her gently, never shifting his gaze from the three boys, who were now looking at him annoyed. Patting the girl's head he gently said, "Why don't you go have lunch with your friends, Miranda?"  
  
The girl looked to the three bullies, which were now slowly coming near them and quickly nodded. Letting go of his waist, she turned around and ran to the main grounds.  
  
Sirius tensed, seeing the three boys were not pleased at all with the intervention. Harry was still standing calmly there, as if nothing was wrong. One of the teenagers spoke. "Why do you and your friends always step into things that don's concern you, Harry?"  
  
The boy growled menacingly, Harry didn't seem impressed and simply smiled coldly. "And why, Hector, can you not leave younger students alone. This is a school, not an institution for criminal incurable boys."  
  
Harry's smile widened at his own inner joke, thinking about his uncle. All thoughts were erased from his mind when the three boys started to run to him, seemingly intend on doing him some harm. Sirius, without a second thought, jumped out of the bushes, ready to defend his small godson. That was highly unnecessary. By the time he had reached the boys, Harry had already disposed of them, rendering them all three unconscious with some swift punches to their jaws and stomachs.  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. 


	3. Shock

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fates.  
  
Harry looked at them for a while, wondering what he should do with them. He wasn't really in a hurry to get the professors here, Professor VilljÃ© would be upset. She didn't like it when they fought, and he really didn't want to get into a detention the first day back. While wondering what the problems of leaving them there would be, he suddenly sensed he was no longer alone. Whirling around, he came face to face with a big, black dog. A dog he hadn't expected to see till summer at least. Harry felt his jaw drop and his legs become slightly unstable.  
  
Sirius noticed Harry looking at him, but he was still in shock over what he had just witnessed. Remus had told him what had happened that night in the great hall, when they thought Ron had died, but it hadn't really sunk in. Harry fighting, without magic, and with his fists like some muggle kid helped him understand how much Harry had distanced himself from active magic. Sure, the kid had proved that his friends and him continued studying and practising magic, but as many wizards did, they didn't depend on it. Suddenly he was startled out of his thoughts when two strong arms wrapped themselves around his neck. Looking at his side, he saw Harry had buried his head in his soft fur. With a contented sigh, Sirius shook away the image of the fighting Harry and let his mind focus on the kid that was now hugging him. Gently, he nuzzled his face and licked him softly on the check. Harry looked up smiling.  
  
"You know you nearly shocked me to death, do you?"  
  
Sirius growled a little. Him? Him shocking Harry to death? What did the kid think his letter had done to him? Seemingly understanding what the big dog was thinking, Harry stood up and looked at the ground, slightly embarrassed. "You are going to lecture me latter, right?"  
  
Sirius let out a soft bark and then started to push the boy to the main grounds. He was sure there was someone waiting for him. Harry sighed and nodded in understanding. "Will you be here when I come out?"  
  
Padfoot rolled his eyes as good as he could, the boy could be a little dense sometimes, he sure hadn't gone through all the trouble of finding his godson to spend a few minutes with him. Harry smiled, supposing Sirius was going to be there, and with a last pat on the dog's head he left.  
  
Hermione and Ron were waiting for him, sitting under a tree a little separated from the main crowd. They had started eating without him, quietly talking about the new assignment they had got in math. They both looked up when he sat down next to them and smiled.  
  
"What happened Dragon?" Phoenix tucked some hair behind her ear. "It's not like you to be late."  
  
Harry nodded and put out his lunch. "Hector and his little gang were at it again, they were terrorising a first year. Had to use a little of brute force to subdue them."  
  
He began to eat silently. Hermione was frowning. "Did you warn someone?"  
  
Harry looked up startled. "I forgot. You see, just when I was debating whether to warn a teacher or not, Snuffles came out of the bushes."  
  
Hermione and Ron looked up sharply. "Snuffles? Are you sure?"  
  
Harry sat back, leaning against the tree. "Yes, I'm sure." Then he cringed a little. "He didn't seem very happy."  
  
Hermione snorted. "Well, if he is here, that means he doesn't agree with you. I guess he was worried."  
  
Harry grumbled a little, but then his attention was drawn to a group of girls that was nervously approaching them. They stopped in front of them and the three teenagers looked up at them questioningly. Ron smiled pleasantly at the girls, noticing how nervous they were. "Can we help you with something?"  
  
One of the girls stepped forward, and Harry recognised her as the one he had helped. "I just wanted to thank you, Dragon. I was really afraid they were going to hurt me."  
  
Harry smiled gently at her. "Don't worry, honey, they are not going to annoy you in a while. If you ever need help you just have to come talk us, ok?"  
  
The girl nodded and after saying thanks again left with her friends. Ron snorted. "Ah, all in the life of a big brother. You guys realise we are nearly the siblings of every young student in this school, right?"  
  
Hermione laughed. "Sure we do, but you know you love it as much as we do."  
  
Ron blushed a little, but nodded. Soon the bell rang indicating that lessons were about to start again, and the three friends left among their classmates.  
  
Harry passed through the few lessons he had that evening thinking about his godfather, it had really taken him by surprise and he wasn't sure what he would do about him, or what to expect. He really didn't know Sirius all that well. When the bell indicating the finishing of lessons rang, he almost ran out of the room, ignoring everyone in his rush to get to his godfather. He didn't even hear the professor saying she had an announcement to make. Everyone in the room was looking at the open door startled. Dragon, Griffin and Phoenix were nearly always the last ones to leave the classroom, they always had some question to ask or they simply waited till most of the students had left so they could walk out in peace. On the other hand, Hermione and Ron were smirking at the hurry their friend seemed to have. Shaking her head, Hermione turned to the professor, that was looking a little put out and gently asked what the announcement was. Professor TarÃ­s snapped out of her reverie and nodded to her. "Tomorrow some students will be joining us from a boarding school in Scotland, they will be here for two weeks, and the teachers and I ask you to make them feel welcome."  
  
Everyone nodded and someone asked, "What's the name of the school?"  
  
The teacher looked at her papers. "It's a very small school, nearly no one has heard about it so I doubt you can find anything regarding the school, but its name is Hogwarts."  
  
To be continued...  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. 


	4. Sirius

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fates.  
  
Harry reached the front gate before the large mass of students that he knew was coming got there. The big black dog was now lying near to the entrance doors and a few parents were watching him with apprehension. Quickly Harry joined him, sending a reassuring glance at the adults and then motioned for Padfoot to follow him, knowing Ron and Hermione would understand.  
  
They walked together for a while, reaching the centre of London, suddenly, Padfoot took the sleeve of the jacked he was wearing and pulled him to a small alley. Harry stayed still, making sure no one would see them and shortly after he heard a small pooping noise that told him Sirius had changed. Strong arms enveloped him from behind in a warm hug and Harry leaned against his godfather's chest.  
  
"Hey, kiddo, how are you doing?"  
  
Harry smiled slightly. "Fine." He turned around in his godfather's arms and smiled up at him brightly. "I missed you."  
  
Apparently it was the wrong thing to say because the smile on Sirius's face vanished and his grip tightened around him, making him wince slightly. Hermione had been right, Sirius was not happy. His godfather put his face close to him, burning blue eyes boring into his green pools. In a soft whisper he started to speak. "Do this to me again, Harry, and you will get it. Do you have any idea how scared I was when I found out you had left? I thought I had lost you. I can't lose you."  
  
Harry blushed a bit, no one had ever said things like that to him, except for Ron and Hermione. "But what about Mum and Dad?"  
  
Sirius's expression was blank. "Harry, I have lived without them for a long while, I have come to terms with not having them there. They made a mistake, they shouldn't have said all they did. By doing that, they forced me to choose between them and you, and without doubt I choose you. I have told you more than once I love you very much. Harry, you are my son in everything but in name, and I'm not about to let my son go away without a fight, so you can as well get used to it."  
  
Harry blushed even more and he buried his head in his godfather's shoulder, allowing the older man to gently caress his hair. Something that had been missing since Christmas returned to him, leaving a warm feeling behind. A small cough startled them and they pulled back and turned around, only to be faced with a grinning Ron and Hermione. The red-haired boy broke the embarrassed silence. "Well, if you two are ready, we should get going. You will never believe what the teacher just told us."  
  
**************************************  
  
Hermione froze, she couldn't have understood the name right, there was no way Hogwarts students were going to attend a muggle school. That was it, she must have heard wrong. "Excuse me professor, what was the name of the school?"  
  
"It's Hogwarts, Phoenix."  
  
Hermione sank back in her seat, a soft voice next to her expressed the same that she was thinking now. "Holy shit. Dragon is going to have a fit."  
  
A concerned voice pulled them out of their reverie. "Are you two ok?"  
  
They looked up and noticed they were the only students left. Nodding, they quickly put their things together and walked out of the classroom. Supposing Harry had already left with Sirius, the two teenagers set off to find them. Knowing Harry, he would have took their usual route, so it wouldn't be too hard to find them.  
  
About ten minutes later, they were passing a small alley when Ron caught sight of his friend. Pulling Hermione with him, they entered the alley and saw Harry and Sirius hugging closely. They waited somewhat patiently, but when it seemed they would stay that way for a long time, Hermione coughed a bit to get their attention.  
  
Ron was amused at the look of embarrassment of the two men but pushed it aside, they needed to tell Harry the news before they got home.  
  
"Well, if you two are ready, we should get going. You will never believe what the teacher told us." The four started to walk out of the alley. Sirius had his arm wrapped protectively around his godson's shoulders and Harry didn't seem to mind much. Hermione took a deep breath and decided to be the one to break the news to their friend. "Professor Tarís said that tomorrow a few new students would be arriving. They will be staying for a few weeks."  
  
Harry smiled. "That's great." Then noticing the frown on his friend's faces he asked. "What's wrong?"  
  
Hermione and Ron exchanged a look and the redhead sighed. "They are from Hogwarts, Dragon."  
  
Harry stopped dead in his tracks, he became very pale and Sirius had to tighten his grip on the boy, afraid he would fall. A small whisper came out of Harry's pale lips. "Hogwarts?" The two other teenagers simply nodded. "What is Dumbledore playing at?"  
  
Hermione and Ron both shrugged, they had no doubt the Headmaster had done this on purpose, but why had he done it. Harry turned to face Sirius, a bit of mistrust in his eyes. "Did you know about it?"  
  
Sirius sighed, seeing the look in the boy's eyes but shook his head. "I had no idea, Harry, I left Hogwarts the same day you did."  
  
Harry looked down, suddenly ashamed. "Sorry."  
  
The man didn't reply, but Harry felt him squeeze his shoulder reassuringly and smiled again.  
  
The four of them walked in silence, the three teenagers leading the way to their house. They stopped in front of a small cottage, and Harry turned to Sirius. "This is where we live. This is Professor Villjé's house."  
  
Sirius looked around, but noticed the door opening and a young woman coming out. He could see she was quite tall, she had blonde hair, that reached past her waist. Her blue eyes had been filled with worry when she stepped out of the house, but at the sight of the children they lighted up and she ran to embrace Hermione who returned the hug. Sirius and Harry approached and could her what the woman was saying.  
  
"I'm so sorry, kids. I didn't know about the exchange till this morning, I hadn't a choice in the matter because the school governors had already decided it would be a good learning experience for you to meet children from other schools."  
  
Phoenix smiled slightly, she was still a little pale, but patted the woman's back reassuringly. "It's ok, professor. It's not your fault, we will be able to deal with it."  
  
Then the girl stepped aside and motioned to where Harry and Sirius were standing. "Professor Villjé, I would like to introduce to you Sirius Black, Dragon's godfather. Sirius this is Professor Daleila Villjé."  
  
Daleila looked a bit startled at the man standing protectively at Dragon's side, but quickly recovered and smiling extended her hand. "Hello, nice to meet you."  
  
Sirius smiled a little dazed, he was still not used to human contact other than his friends. Nevertheless he took her hand and gently shook it. "Nice to meet you too. It's good to finally meet the woman who has helped my godson and his friends so much."  
  
The woman blushed a little, but kept smiling and led the way back into the house.  
  
To be continued…  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. 


	5. Decisions

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
The evening was a bit strained. Even if Daleila and Sirius got along fine, the woman had resented him for a long while because he had hurt one of 'her' children. Sirius was aware of that fact, even if no one had told him, he knew how the woman would feel towards him. Probably the same way he felt about James and Lily. So the two of them stayed extremely polite during dinner and when Harry went up to his room, Sirius went with him. Not only to make sure he didn't stay alone with Daleila but also because he wanted to talk with his godson in private. Sirius shut the door after him and saw his godson sit down on the bed, leaving the chair placed in front of the desk free for him. They sat in silence for a while, neither knowing what to say. Finally, when the silence began to get on Harry's nerves, he asked the first question that came to mind. "How did you find us?"  
  
Sirius shrugged slightly. "Hermione said the name of your school, it was pretty easy. I've heard it's a very good school, very demanding. How do you and Ron manage?"  
  
Harry smiled slightly. "Well, it was hard at the beginning, but it's not like we had anything better to do. It helped keep our minds focused."  
  
Sirius sighed sadly. "Harry, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have..."  
  
Harry groaned loudly, cutting his godfather in mid sentence and laid back wrapping an arm over his eyes. "Not this again, please. We have gone through the apologies more then enough."  
  
Sirius smiled slightly, a sad look still lingering in his eyes. Softly he said, "Yes, I have. But what about you?"  
  
Harry sat up and looked at him. Then he stood up and went to hug his godfather. The older man hugged him back and put him on his lap. Harry leaned against his godfather's chest and sighed softly. "I'm so sorry Sirius. I can't say I'm sorry for leaving, because I couldn't have spent another minute there, but I'm sorry for assuming you would prefer my parents over me, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you before going. I guess I was afraid you would forbid me to go away and I didn't want to get in an argument at that time."  
  
Sirius hugged him tighter and put his check against Harry's black hair. "It's ok, I guess I understand it." Then he drew back and put a hand under Harry's jaw, making the boy look up at him. In a stern voice he stated. "I assure you, that if you do something like this again, you will be grounded till you are old and grey, I'm still your guardian, remember?"  
  
Harry nodded solemnly, but an amused glance was dancing in his green eyes. Shortly after, Harry's look became worried. Sirius noticed at once and looked intently at him. "What's wrong kiddo?"  
  
Harry sat up on Sirius's lap and turned his head to face him. "What happens now? You said it yourself, you are my legal guardian, you get to decide what I have to do, don't you?"  
  
Sirius looked somewhat surprised, he clearly hadn't thought about that. "Well, yes, technically that's right. But I wouldn't force you to do anything against your will, unless I thought you were in danger."  
  
Harry looked relieved. "So you will not be sending me back to Hogwarts?"  
  
Sirius looked pensive for a while, he could make Harry go back to Hogwarts, but he doubted that was the best solution while his parents stayed there. On the other hand, he wanted Harry to finish his magical studies and Hogwarts was the best school to do that. Finally he spoke. "When will, Ron, Hermione and you finish muggle school?"  
  
A little startled about the question, Harry answered him without thinking. "This year, Professor VilljÃ© allowed us to skip a year because we were very advanced."  
  
Sirius nodded. "Well, then you will finish muggle school, but next year you will return to Hogwarts to take your last year and your NEWT's, ok? By then your parents will have probably moved out of the castle."  
  
Harry smiled and flung his arms around his godfather's neck. "Thanks, thanks, thanks,..."  
  
Sirius laughed and gasped at the same time. "Some air, please."  
  
"Ups, sorry." Harry let go of his neck and leaned back against him.  
  
Sirius looked at him for a while, and then he asked something he had been thinking about for a while. "Harry?"  
  
The boy looked up again, not bothering to get out of his godfather's lap. "Yes?"  
  
Sirius bit his lip a little nervously. "I would like it if you came to live with me."  
  
Harry looked a little shocked, but mentally he berated himself, he should have been expecting this. But for the life of him, he didn't know what to answer. He felt happy where he was, but on the other hand, living with Sirius had always been one of his dreams. Sirius saw the battle raging through his godson but didn't say anything. He knew the decision had to be his.  
  
Harry broke the strained silence. "Where would we be living?"  
  
Sirius relaxed a bit, at least the boy was considering it. "I haven't got an apartment yet, but I was thinking about something close to here, so you could see Ron and Hermione as often as you wanted."  
  
Harry looked a little unsure. "The people living next to us moved out a few months ago, would that be ok?"  
  
Sirius smiled. "That would be perfect Harry. In fact I think I'll be buying that house whether you come to live with me or not, I want to stay close to you."  
  
Harry smiled happily. "Then I would love to come and live with you, Sirius."  
  
The man's face cleared up. "You mean it?"  
  
Harry nodded and Sirius stood up, Harry still in his arms, and twirled the boy around. "I'll arrange it as soon as I can."  
  
To be continued...  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. 


	6. The transfer students

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
When Harry woke up the next morning, he had the unpleasant feeling that it was going to be a long day. At first, still half asleep, he was not able to pinpoint the surge of that feeling. But then he remembered what his friends had said the evening before. Hogwarts students at Greenings, it was about the worst thing that could happen to him right now. Sirius had left the night before to go back to the apartment he had rented, and he had promised to meet him that evening after classes. With a sigh, Dragon stood up and groggily walked out to his room and to the bathroom so he could get cleaned up. Luckily, today it was Hermione's turn to wake Ron up, because he really wasn't in the mood to do so. After having washed up, the teenager walked down the stairs and went into the kitchen. Much to his surprise, Hermione was sitting there with Ron. They were both starring glumly in front of them, Harry could easily tell they were really not happy about the new turn of events. Hermione looked up at him when he came in and offered him a small smile.  
  
"Morning Dragon."  
  
Harry grumbled a bit and sank down into his chair. Ron looked at him. "You're cheerful today."  
  
Harry snorted. "Look who's talking."  
  
They stayed silent for a while, Professor Villjé hadn't come down yet, and for the first time, Harry noticed it was really early, barely six o'clock. Hermione, in an effort to break the tension coating the room, tried to talk about something not related to school, namely Sirius. "How did it go yesterday with Padfoot, Harry?"  
  
The boy shrugged. "I guess it went well, at least he wont take me back to Hogwarts for now. I'm going to move in with him as soon as he has his house arranged." At their horrified looks, he smiled wryly. "Don't look so panicked, I convinced him to buy the house next to this one so it won't be all that different."  
  
Sighing, Hermione leaned her head in on the table. "I guess that was to be expected. Is he still your guardian?"  
  
Harry rose an eyebrow. "Who else would be?" At his friends looks he added dryly. "My parent's son died fifteen years ago, remember? There's no way they will claim guardianship over me, at least till someone has knocked some sense into them."  
  
Both his friends sighed and mumbled an apology. After that the conversation died and they sat in silence till their professor came down.  
  
"My, are you in a good mood today."  
  
The trio shot her looks that clearly told her to shut up, but didn't respond otherwise. They really weren't in the mood to talk. Half an hour later, when the children were picking up their things to get going, Daleila asked them something that had been nagging her since the day before. Sternly she looked at them. "Children, I hope you are not planning on skipping classes, are you?"  
  
Harry looked at her surprised. Actually the thought hadn't crossed his mind. Looking at his friends, he realised they were feeling much the same way as he was. Hermione was the first to speak. "No, we weren't planning on skipping. By the way, professor, I don't think the students are going to come alone, are they?"  
  
Somewhat reassured by the girl's words, she nodded. "You're right, two teachers are going to come with them. I'm afraid I don't remember their names, so you'll have to wait and see." She smiled gently at them. "I'll be seeing you later, ok? If it is too much for you to cope with, you can always come up to my office."  
  
The teenagers nodded, said goodbye, and left the house.  
  
When they came into their classroom, they were relieved to see the new students weren't there yet. They took their usual places in the back and tried to ignore the excited chatter that rang around the room. They had history as their first lesson, but instead of Professor Manson, professor Tarís came in. Everyone rushed to their seats and looked at her expectantly.  
  
"Good morning, Class. As I told you yesterday, we have a few transfer students who will be attending lessons with you for two weeks. Also with them, two of their teachers will be sitting in some of the classes with the purpose to compare the differences in teaching between our schools. I hope you will help them in everything you can. We will use this hour to make introductions. Unluckily, the two exchange teachers are talking with the headmistress and won't be able to attend. So you know what to call them, their names are Professor Lupin and Professor Snape."  
  
Hearing those names, the trio groaned loudly and Ron banged his head on the table. "We are doomed! Of all the Hogwart's teachers we have to put up with that slimy git. What was Dumbledore thinking?"  
  
"Beats me, but I will have a long, nice chat with the headmaster next time I see him." Harry was looking grimly in front of him, the thought of him and Snape being in the same building again, was nearly enough to make him sick.  
  
Hermione sighed. "At least Remus is with him. It could have been Snape and Trelawny."  
  
The two boys looked at her shocked. Ron shook his head vigorously, trying to shake that thought. "Don't even joke about that, Phoenix."  
  
Suddenly they became aware of the whole classroom looking at them. Blushing a bit, they settled down again, looking blankly in front of them. Softly professor Tarís asked. "Are you three feeling alright? Do you need to go see the nurse?"  
  
Harry smiled grimly. "No, everything's... fine. We were just a tad shocked, go on."  
  
Looking at him strangely, the teacher walked to the door and opened it, allowing the five students standing there to come in. The teacher once again took her place in front of the classroom and motioned to the students. "These are our exchange students." She turned to them. "Could you please tell the class your names and what you like to do?"  
  
Ron looked at his former housemates, they hadn't changed that much in the year he hadn't seen them. One of the boys stepped forward rather confidently. "My name is Dean Thomas and I love football."  
  
After him, one of the girls came forward. Harry wasn't really surprised about that, those two were muggleborns and didn't risk embarrassing themselves. "I'm Lavender Brown, and I like to gossip."  
  
Harry heard Ron moan at his side, it was something Lavender would say.  
  
"I'm Neville Longbottom, and I like to study plants."  
  
"I'm Seamus Finnigan, I like sports."  
  
Hermione snorted softly, obviously someone had told what they had to say. The other girl came forward. "My name is Parvati Patil, and I guess I like the same things as Lavender."  
  
Ron bend over Harry and whispered in his ear. "No kidding. But they have forgotten to say they love divination."  
  
Harry snorted quietly, it wouldn't do if they attracted their friend's attention before the time was right. It would be awkward enough as it was, no need to have them angry on top of everything. The teacher started to talk again. "Thanks children." She turned to the class. "Now I want you to stand up, one at the time, and do the same."  
  
The class obediently chorused "Yes ma'am."  
  
But Ron, Harry and Hermione sighed again and sank back into their seats. The teacher, noticing this looked at them, smiling sweetly. "Why don't you start, Phoenix?"  
  
The girl cursed under her breath while the two boys put their heads into their hands. With a smirking face Hermione stood up. She saw the five Gryffindors turn to her and suddenly freeze. Without a word, she mock-bowed to them, and patiently waited for an answer. Professor Tarís, a bit puzzled at her behaviour, was about to reprimand the girl when a loud shriek rang through the room.  
  
"Hermione!!!!!"  
  
Suddenly, Lavender bolted from her place and ran to Phoenix, enveloping her in a tight hug. They were soon joined by Parvati, who was now crying softly. Ron and Harry shook their heads, mildly amused, but didn't have the time to stand up when two other cries sounded.  
  
"Harry!!!!!"  
  
"Ron!!!!!!"  
  
With a loud sound, Harry crashed onto the floor, with Dean and Seamus lying on top of him. Ron had been more lucky, Neville had just embraced him tightly.  
  
"Dean, Seamus, get off!"  
  
The two boys grinned and stood up, pulling him along. Harry didn't have much of a chance to be relieved, because at the same moment Dean and Seamus pulled away, Lavender and Parvati took their places and began to cry on his shoulders. With a resigned sigh, he put his arms around the two crying girls, patting their backs reassuringly and shooting a helpless look at his friends. Finally Hermione managed to get away from Neville, and whistled sharply. All the Gryffindors looked at her. "Ok, if you don't mind, I'm sure we can continue this tearful reunion later, when we are not in front of a whole classroom. Right?"  
  
The five students looked around the room and noticed everyone was gapping at them, flushing a bit, they let go of their friends and walked back to the places they had been standing while Ron, Hermione and Harry sat down again. Professor Tarís looked at them curiously. "Care to explain?"  
  
Hermione looked at her intently before answering. "We went to Hogwarts."  
  
Seeing the trio was not about to explain more than that, the professor motioned for the next student to introduce himself.  
  
To be continued...  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. 


	7. Lessons

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
A/N: The student that began to talk in the last chapter was a student from Greenings, there will be no one else from Hogwarts showing up. At least, for now.  
  
Fate.  
  
Once the hour was over, the five teenagers rushed back to where Ron, Harry and Hermione were sitting, pretty much ignoring all other students who were trying to grab their attention. With a sigh, Harry leaned back into his chair and waited till the other Gryffindors had approached them. Smirking slightly he asked. "Ok, whose wonderful idea was it to get Snape here?"  
  
The other teenagers looked at each other puzzled, Snape was not a topic they wanted to discuss but nevertheless Lavender answered. "I think it was Dumbledore, you know he's a bit crazy."  
  
Seamus nodded. "He has to be to put Snape in charge of a bunch of Gryffindors, he will end up killing us."  
  
Neville looked at his friends. "You know it's a really coincidence we ended up in the same school as you."  
  
The trio laughed out loud. Hermione was the first to calm down. "Sorry to disappoint you, Neville, I hardly think it was a coincidence."  
  
Parvati looked at her questioningly. "Why do you say that, Hermione?"  
  
The girl grimaced. "Please, call me Phoenix, everyone does. And Dumbledore knew where we were going to school so it's no wonder he decided to put you here. Probably trying to make us come back to Hogwarts."  
  
The five teenagers looked at their friends puzzled, but didn't have the chance to say anything else, because the biology teacher came in with Remus and Snape, ready to teach her lesson. A proof that it had all been a set up from Dumbledore, was the fact that neither man looked surprised when they saw the five Gryffindors sitting with the trio. Dragon could have sworn he even saw Lupin looking around before his eyes fell on them. While Snape sneered to them in his usual way, Remus smiled a little, unsure how the trio was going to react. The three teenagers seemed to be taking it relatively well, but Remus was a bit unsure, during the holidays he had noticed the trio had changed a great deal and now it was kind of hard to tell how they were feeling. The werewolf felt a little reassured when Harry acknowledged him with a nod of his head, and he took his seat next to Snape.  
  
For the rest of the lesson, the trio didn't acknowledge any of the Hogwarts students nor professors in any way. They concentrated on their work and only now and then did they look at their former friends, trying to hold their laughter at Neville's desperate attempts to use a ballpoint properly. Soon it became apparent to the trio, that they fellow Gryffindors didn't have much idea of what the teacher was talking about. Luckily for them, the studies in Care of Magical Creatures were close enough for them to follow the lesson and between Dean and Lavender they managed to keep from making many errors. When the teacher began to notice that the new students seemed to be acting strange and not knowing much about what she was talking about, the trio looked at each other. They couldn't let the secret of their former friends come out, because then their own secret would be revealed. In a few seconds of silent conversation between the three of them, they decided to take matters in hand. From then on, every time the teacher asked any question to the Hogwart's students, one of the trio came up with some question that got the teachers attention.  
  
After biology, they had chemistry. To the trios relieve that day they were going to do practical work in the lab. They had to work in pairs. Quickly the three of them decided to take each of the purebloods with them, so as not to let them do much damage. Dragon, being the best in chemistry, forcefully grabbed Nevilles arm and dragged him to her usual sat. Ron paired off with Parvati and Hermione had to put up with Seamus. Dragon also made sure Dean and Lavender would be sitting in front of him so he could see if they were going to do something wrong. During that whole lesson, Snape hovered over them like he used to do in potions back at Hogwarts. He specially kept a close eye at Neville making Harry incredible nervous. Finally, when the end of the lesson was approaching, Harry's patience wore off. Putting the erlenmeyer he had been using down, he turned to face the potions master. With a soft, deathly voice, he asked. "Professor, would it be too much to ask if you kindly left us alone? Nothing is going to happen."  
  
Snape snorted. "I will remind you Potter, that you're working with Longbottom, the boy can't even make the simplest po… experiment right. Not that you are much better."  
  
Harry's lips thinned and his eyes became dark with suppressed anger. Without removing his gaze from the other man, he grabbed the vase Neville was about to drop and put it on the table. "That was then and this is now. I would like to inform you that I hold the highest marks in chemistry from this school." Then Harry smirked. "You know, it's curious, I change schools and suddenly become very good at chemistry. I wonder if it had to do with our teacher."  
  
Snape's face became deathly pale. "Are you suggesting I'm a bad teacher, Potter?"  
  
Neville cowered in fear behind Harry, and all the other Gryffindors stared at them. Harry smiled innocently at the man. "Me? No." Harry's expression suddenly changed and became hard. "I am telling you. You are a poor excuse for a teacher."  
  
Snape looked murderous, but Harry didn't pay him any more attention and returned to his experiment. Phoenix and Griffin, had been listening to the exchange but neither had stepped in nor looked up from their experiments, they knew Harry was more than able to deal with the man himself. Snape, seeing he couldn't do anything else without causing a scene, abruptly left and went to join Lupin in front of the classroom.  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. 


	8. Discusions

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
When the morning classes had finally finished, luckily without much incident, Ron, Harry and Hermione quickly walked out of the classroom. They were not really in the mood to talk to either, the Gryffindor students or Remus. Once outside, they quickly walked to a hidden corner of the garden and making sure no one had seen them, they levitated to the roof, insuring they would be able to stay out of sight for anyone who wished to talk to them.  
  
Griffin sighed and laid on the roof, his lunch lying forgotten at his side. "I hate this, why does Dumbledore have to do this kind of things? What is he hoping to attain? We are not going back till next year, there was no need to bring them here."  
  
Dragon and Phoenix laid down next to him, their lunch also forgotten. Harry sighed deeply, he had long ago stopped trying to guess what was going on in Dumbledore's head. They stayed in silence for a while, neither really in the mood for speaking. Suddenly they heard raised voices coming from under them.  
  
"Leave me alone, you stupid jerk, we are not intersted!"  
  
"Awww, come on sweetheart, we can have some fun together."  
  
The trio groaned, recognising Hector's and Lavender's voices. Griffin banged his head against the floor where he was lying. "Not again! What's with him? Didn't he have enough yesterday?"  
  
Phoenix sighed. "Seemingly not. Wait a sec, I better go help her before something bad happens."  
  
But it was too late, a cry of stupefy made the trio groan again. Dragon sprung up and looked over the edge. Right under him, he saw Lavender standing with her wand in her hand, pointing menacingly at the two other boys. Dragon noticed with some satisfaction that Hector was knocked out. Phoenix, who had been looking down next to him, suddenly sprang down and gently levitated herself to the ground just when the other two boys began to turn around, frightened expressions on their faces. The two bullies stopped short and without wasting her time, Hermione punched them unconscious. Lavender gazed at her, a dazed look on her features. Hermione raised an eyebrow in her direction and flatly said, "You should put that wand away before someone else sees it."  
  
The girl blushed a bit and put her wand back into her pocket. "Sorry about that. The creep was trying to touch me."  
  
Hermione nodded in understanding. "We heard, but you really shouldn't have knocked him out, now we'll have to erase their memories."  
  
A male voice interrupted them. "We've already done that."  
  
Both girls turned around and saw Ron and Harry floating down. The red haired boy looked Lavender over carefully. "Are you ok? That piece of shit didn't hurt you, did he?"  
  
The girl shook her head slightly. "No, I had stunned him before he could do anything."  
  
While Griffin looked somewhat relieved, Dragon looked down at the three boys. "We should get out of here, there's no sense in staying with them, someone will find them soon enough."  
  
The other three nodded and followed him, walking back to the main part of the grounds. Harry looked questioningly at the Gryffindor girl. "Why were you alone, Lavender?"  
  
The girl smiled a little embarrassed. "The others and I were looking for you. We thought it better to separate so we could cover more ground."  
  
Phoenix rose and eyebrow to the girl. "Why were you looking for us? Is there something wrong?"  
  
Lavender shook her head. "No, everything's fine, it's just we wanted to talk to you."  
  
The trio exchanged weary glances but finally Griffin nodded in acceptance. "Ok, where are the others?"  
  
"We agreed to meet again over there." She was pointing to a large tree, a little separated from the main grounds. Dragon could already see two people leaning against it, waiting for them. As they approached, they saw it was Neville and Dean. The two boys were talking quietly and relaxed when they saw Lavender come back with the trio.  
  
The teenagers all sat down, patiently waiting for the others to rejoin them. Harry was very aware of the mounting tension between then but he really couldn't think about something to break it, making small talk had never been his strong point and right now he really was not in the mood for it. Finally, after five long minutes, Seamus and Parvati rejoined them, sitting down between Neville and Lavender.  
  
It took Dean another good five minutes to gather his courage and start to speak. "Look, er…, we are really sorry for thinking you killed all those people, and we are very sorry it had to happen to you. If there's something…"  
  
Dragon raised his hand, making the other boy quiet down. "Before you continue, lets look at this from an objective perspective, shall we?"  
  
The other teenagers nodded, wondering what Harry was thinking. Ron and Hermione were also a bit clueless, but were sure that what Harry had to say would be important. "Ok. We had known each other for four years and a few months when the first killing happened, right?" Harry didn't wait for anyone to confirm this, he knew full well that that had been the case. "Now, which one of you can say that he or she knew me back then as good as Ron and Hermione do?"  
  
The other teenagers quickly shook their heads and Parvati spoke. "I don't know about you, guys, but Lavender and I don't really know much about Hermione, besides the fact that she likes to study. She used to hang out with you, and Lave and I hung out together."  
  
The other three boys nodded in agreement, neither had been really close to Ron and Harry. Sure, they went along well, and they shared a room so, they knew more about them that another student might have, but they had not been close friends.  
  
Dragon nodded. "So, we all agree we were not close friends, and that you actually didn't know us that well, even if we had been sharing rooms and classes." The other teenagers nodded. Phoenix and Griffin were smiling slightly, already having guessed where Harry was heading. "In that case, you will understand that we are not really angry at you. I don't want to insult you or anything, but if someone had accused one of you from the same things we have been accused, I, personally, would have believed it. I might have had a rough time accepting it, but after all it was the ministry and Dumbledore who said all that and even our families did agree. There was no way for you to know that we hadn't done it. There was also not a single reason for you to think that we had not murdered those people, all evidence was against us."  
  
The Gryffindors were looking pensively, but they understood Harry's point. Neville was the first to snap out of his thoughts. "But, Harry, if you think that way, why are you so angry with the Headmaster and with your families?"  
  
Griffin was the one to answer that question, even if it had been directed to Harry. "Well, we are angry with Dumbledore because he didn't try to find out what really had happened, he just assumed the ministry was right and would have sent us to Azkaban without a second thought. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have got a trial either." With a smirk he added. "Of course we didn't stay around to confirm this." After a short pause he continued. "About our families, well, that's easy. They are our families and just believed what they were told. They have known us for years. I, at least, expected them to try and get me a trial, but the only thing they had to say was that from then on I no longer was their son. You can understand that those words are not easily forgotten."  
  
The other teenagers nodded in understanding. Before any of them could say anything else, the bell announcing evening classes rang and the trio stood up. Phoenix motioned to the others. "Come on, evening lessons."  
  
To be continued...  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. 


	9. Dream

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
The rest of the day passed without incident. Between the trio, they managed to cover up the lack of knowledge of their fellow Gryffindors, but it had come to the price to making themselves look foolish in front of most of the teachers, a fact that had irritated them to no end. After the bell had rung, indicating the ending of the lessons, Harry stood up calmly, gathered his things in his bag and looked as Phoenix and Griffin did the same. When they finally walked to the door, they saw the other teens waiting for them, apologetic looks in their eyes. Before they could say anything, they were joined by Lupin and Snape. The werewolf smiled gently at them, but the trio was too annoyed and tired to smile back. They just pushed past them, bidding them goodbye and walked down the hall, leaving a few startled people behind them.  
  
Dragon knocked on the headmistress' office door and when she called out for him to enter, walked into the room followed closely by his friends. The woman looked up with a smile that was quickly replaced with a concerned look when they slumped into their usual chairs. Putting down the pen with which she had been writing she looked at them in turn. "Are you feeling ok? You look tired."  
  
Ron sank deeper in his chair. "We are tired, and we have had to make fools of ourselves more times than I care to remember to cover up for our former classmates. Honestly, I'm going to hurt Dumbledore when I see him. Neville didn't even have a clue about what a tangent was, how are we supposed to keep it up for two weeks? And why do we even care? It's not like they did care about what happened to us!"  
  
Ron stood up and began pacing around the office. Daleila sighed, she had already heard that from the other teachers but she could hardly tell them the true reason their praised students had began to ask whatever question came to mind, specially things they had known for a while. With a deep sigh, she gathered her papers and stood up. "Lets go home, children. I'm sure you can use a few hours of rest."  
  
All three of them nodded and rose from their seats, but when they walked out they saw Remus waiting for them, leaning against a wall. The teens sighed but before the man could address them, Professor Villjé stepped in front of them, a forced smile on her face. "Can I help you with something, Professor Lupin?"  
  
The man looked mildly amused from the children to the woman but answered nonetheless. "Yes, headmistress. I wanted to talk to the children, but I see they are tired and will probably want to go to bed." Remus shot them a concerned look. "Furthermore, I would appreciate it if one of you could tell me where to find Sirius, I assume he has already contacted you."  
  
Harry stepped forward and nodded. "He came by yesterday. You can come with us, if you want. Sirius is going to come home this evening."  
  
Remus shifted his gaze from Harry to Professor Villjé. "I wouldn't want to intrude."  
  
The woman looked back at the other children and finally nodded. "It's ok, you can come with us."  
  
They arrived home nearly half an hour later. Professor Villjé immediately ushered them upstairs and to their rooms so they could have some rest. The teens didn't put up much a fight, basically because they knew it was no use. On the other hand, Harry had to give to that he was feeling more tired than he had in a long time, not physically but mentally. With a sigh, he entered his room and threw his book bag to the ground, using a bit of magic to make it land next to his desk. Then he collapsed into his bed and closed his eyes.  
  
Without meaning to, he felt asleep almost immediately and he was pulled into a dream, something that hadn't happened in quite a while.  
  
Dream  
  
Bodies.  
  
Lost of Bodies.  
  
Dead.  
  
All of them.  
  
Blood.  
  
Lots of it.  
  
A big room.  
  
A throne made of human bones.  
  
A man sitting in the throne.  
  
A man with bright red eyes.  
  
A man with a face like that of a snake.  
  
Voldemort.  
  
An old man lying in front of him.  
  
Dead.  
  
Lifeless blue eyes.  
  
Dumbledore.  
  
A big room.  
  
The great Hall.  
  
HOGWARTS!  
  
Harry woke up with a piercing scream, soon matched by cries coming from other rooms. The dark-haired boy curled up on his side, pulling his legs as close to his chest as possible. He could feel himself trembling from head to toe, his eyes were tightly closed, trying to drive away the images that were haunting his mind. He barely noticed when someone opened the door and ran into the room. Warm arms came around him, startling him out of his terrified thoughts. Harry's first reaction was to fight against the arms that were now hugging him tightly so he began to struggle, still too confused to use wandless magic.  
  
"Harry, Harry! Stop it, it's me!"  
  
After a few minutes of struggling, the words finally registered in the teen's mind and he opened his eyes to see Sirius trying to calm him down, all the while holding him as closely to his chest as Harry's struggling limbs allowed.  
  
Sirius was very relieved when Harry finally stopped fighting him and lay limp in his arms. He had been downstairs talking with Daleila and Remus about his plans to buy the house next to the one Daleila lived in, when screams coming from the bedrooms startled them. Sirius had been the first on his feet and raced out of the living room and up to his godson's room, only to see him curled up in his bed rocking slightly. Quickly he had rushed to the bed and had embraced the kid. He had been surprised when Harry began to move against him, trying to get him to let go of him. Seeing the terrified look in his godson's face, Sirius had refused to let go and finally he had managed to make him stop struggling.  
  
Once Harry had recognized his godfather, he curled up against him, tightening the grip he had on his godfather's waist. Sirius sat down more comfortably, pulling the boy's head on his lap and began to run a hand over his godson's back, trying to stop his trembling. Finally, after a few minutes, the man broke the silence.  
  
"Harry? Are you ok?"  
  
The boy refused to look up, instead he snuggled closer to Sirius's side. His mind was a mess of thoughts. What had the dream meant? Was it a warning? Could Voldemort be already powerful enough to break into Hogwarts?  
  
If that was the case, Ron, Hermione and him would have to do some serious thinking. As much as they had hated the memories that Hogwarts brought them for the past few months, they still loved the place and letting Voldemort take over their old school was not really an option. Sighing, he finally sat up from his place next to his godfather and tried to smile reassuringly at the worried man. Sirius immediately wrapped an arm around his shoulders, still looking very worried. "What happened, Harry?"  
  
The boy shrugged lightly, he wanted to talk to Ron and Hermione before telling anyone about his dream. "I had a nightmare, nothing to worry about."  
  
Harry saw that Sirius was worried despite his words but not wanting to elaborate, he stood up from the bed and stretched out. "When did you arrive, Sirius? Have you seen Remus?"  
  
His godfather looked at him for a while, debating if he should try to force Harry to tell him what was wrong, but finally decided against it and answered his godson's questions. "I came nearly half an hour ago, I would have come up to greet you but Daleila said you were probably sleeping. And yes, I saw Remus, he was with her."  
  
Harry nodded and looked towards the door when it opened. Standing there was Daleila, a concerned look etched upon her face. She immediately came in and hugged him. "Are you ok, Dragon?"  
  
The boy nodded, returning the hug. "I'm fine, Professor. How are Phoenix and Griffin? I remember hearing them scream."  
  
Daleila nodded. "Phoenix is fine, she was a bit shaken up from a nightmare. Professor Lupin is with Ron, but I guess he's doing ok, I'll check on him in a moment." She looked at him intently for a moment and then she asked, "Would it do any good if I asked what the nightmare was about?"  
  
Harry shook his head. "I prefer not to talk about it, if it's the same to you, Professor."  
  
The woman looked at him for a while longer before nodding, and then walked to the door. "You better change your clothes, Dragon." When the boy stared at her in confusion she added, "remember you have an appointment with Doctor Matt."  
  
Harry's eyes widened. "Damn, I had forgotten!"  
  
"Language!"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes at the departing woman. "Sorry Professor."  
  
After the door had closed behind her, the boy turned to Sirius, who was looking a bit confused. "Er… do you mind going out of the room for a moment? I need to change."  
  
Sirius nodded but made no movement to leave. "Who is Doctor Matt? You're not ill, are you?"  
  
Harry bit his lip a bit embarrassed. "No, I'm fine, Doctor Matt is our psychologist, I'm sure I mentioned we still visited him."  
  
Sirius's face fell, he had nearly forgotten what his godson had gone through because he had been too blind to notice that Harry would never turn on them. Seeing the look in the other man's face, Harry quickly embraced him. "It wasn't your fault Sirius."  
  
The man didn't return the hug. "Yes it was."  
  
Harry tightened his grip on the man's waist. "No it was not. Look we have gone over this before and I'm not really in the mood to get through this again. Haven't we fought enough?"  
  
Sirius finally sighed and returned the hug, knowing Harry was right. He felt his godson relax in his arms and tightened the hug. "I'm sorry, Harry, I can't help it. No matter what you say and how right you are, there's no denying the fact that I let you down when you needed me the most. Maybe I couldn't have known, but I should at least have listened to what you had to say."  
  
Without saying anything else, Sirius let go of him and walked out of the bedroom.  
  
Harry thought about continuing the discussion but finally decided to leave it for another day. He could understand what Sirius was going through, he had gone through a similar situation not that long ago and had learned that the rational mind often had no influence on the feelings of guilt. Sighing he turned around and went to get dressed, he really wasn't looking forward to today's session, he was sure the doctor would say they were stressed out. Harry smirked. Of course they were, ex-classmates and ex-professors showed up, they had to make fools of themselves so no muggle would suspect anything, then they faced dreams about doom and destruction. Well, as far as he was concerned, that was more than enough to get anyone stressed.  
  
To be continued…  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. 


	10. Stress

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
The three teens walked out of the house together, Sirius had wanted to come with them, but Harry had refused, claiming it was a very private thing and he wasn't ready to share it with anyone else than Ron, Hermione and their doctor. Finally, Sirius had been forced to relent and the three kids were on their way to the doctor.  
  
Dr Matt lived a few streets away from their house, he was an old friend of Daleila's father. The old doctor had retired a few years ago but had accepted to help them as a favour to Professor Villjé. They arrived there ten minutes later and Mrs Matt opened the door for them, hugging them in turn. The old woman had become very fond of them in the time they had been visiting her husband and they knew they would always find someone to help in that house. The old doctor was already waiting for them in the old room he had used as a work room and now used just as his office. He stood up and greeted them cheerfully, immediately noticing the stressed out look the three teens were trying to hide from him.  
  
"Good evening children. Why don't you sit down."  
  
Hermione took her usual position on the couch, leaning comfortably back, while Harry sat in a big chair and Ron leaned against the window. The first day they had been there, Dr Matt had insisted they sat wherever they wanted so they would be as relaxed as possible. The positions they took in his room also had helped him to get to know them better, since they had been very reluctant to talk to him about their past. They still were very reluctant and refused to go into details, but they had learned to open up a bit through the months. Even so, Dr Matt found himself looking at the blank masks he had faced at the beginning. Suppressing a sigh, the old man took his usual seat next to Hermione and looked them over carefully. Deciding to begin with something light, he asked them how the day had been. The reaction was not one he had been expecting. In stead of relaxing, the three teens tensed even more. Raising his eyebrow he turned his gaze toward Griffin, who was leaning his forehead against the closed window.  
  
"Ron, why don't you tell me what happened today?"  
  
He was about the only muggle who still called them by their names, even their teachers at school had relented and called them by their nicknames. The red-haired teen turned to face the doctor and reluctant began to explain.  
  
(A/N: I'm not going to get further into this 'cause I have no idea how such a visit goes, if someone wants to write that scene you're welcome to try.)  
  
When the three teenagers left the house, a worried Dr Matt phoned Daleila. The woman picked up the phone after only one ring, she had been expecting it.  
  
"Hello Daleila."  
  
"Hello Jack, how are you and Marissa doing?"  
  
The old doctor relaxed into his chair. "Fine, I can't complain. I'm calling you about the kids."  
  
Daleila sighed. "I figured that out."  
  
The man nodded, his friend's daughter had always been very perceptive and she knew he called her every time there was a problem with the children. "They are beginning to be much to stressed out for my liking, I think it would be better if they stayed at home for a few days, keep them away from those students. About the godfather and his friend, they can stay around, but if you see there's tension between them and the kids keep them away, understood?"  
  
"Of course, Jack. Thank you for calling me, I'm sure the children wouldn't have told me that, they are sometimes so stuborn."  
  
Dr Matt chuckled. "Yes, I know. I'll talk to you later, Daleila, warn me if there's something wrong."  
  
"I will. Thanks again."  
  
"You're welcome, bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Daleila sighed when she hung up the phone, she knew that having the exchange students at the school would bring problems for her kids, but there had been no talking against the school board. She turned to the two men who had been looking at her intently. From what she had heard of them and what she had seen, she could already say she liked them. The trio had told her all about what had happened and she knew that even if they had made mistakes in accusing the children, they were now trying to make things right. She could tell by the fact they were here and because of the worry that now showed in their eyes, the same she knew she would find in hers if she looked in a mirror. Sighing again, she sank back into the chair she had been occupying when the phone had rung and without waiting for a question, she told the two men what the doctor had told her.  
  
They were all looking very worried, when the teens entered the house some time later. Seeing the worry in the adults' eyes, Dragon sat next to his godfather with a sigh, with Phoenix at his other side and Griffin at hers. Calmly, Dragon was the first to speak. "You've talked with Dr. Matt."  
  
Daleila nodded. "You are staying here for the rest of the week."  
  
Dragon shook his head. "We can't."  
  
Daleila locked eyes with him. "Why not?"  
  
"We can hardly leave the Hogwarts students there on their own, it'll be a disaster."  
  
Daleila's lips became thinner. "Dragon, I don't give a damn about them, I worry about you three, and if the doctor says you've to stay home, you will do so, understood? Sirius is going to stay with you, so don't even think on sneaking out."  
  
Dragon wanted to argue with her, but he suddenly felt Hermione's arm in his own, pressing it lightly. Shooting her a quick look, the boy simply leaned back against the couch and nodded, wondering why his friend had stopped him. The professor looked at them suspiciously, wondering why she had been able to win this argument as easily as she had, but finally decided to let the matter rest and went to the kitchen to finish readying dinner.  
  
Half an hour later, when a tense dinner had been finished and Sirius and Remus had left, the three teens walked up the stairs to their rooms, ushered up there by Daleila, who had fully shipped into over protective mother mode. Once they were out of the professor's hearing range, Dragon turned around to face Phoenix.  
  
"Phoenix? Why did you stop me from arguing with her?"  
  
The girl shrugged. "You wouldn't have won that argument, you know it as good as I do. Besides, that will give us time to talk about the nightmare." She shuddered. "I assume you had it too, the one about Hogwarts."  
  
The other two teens looked sombrely at her and Griffin answered. "Yeah, we'll have to see if it was exact the same. Maybe it'll be a good thing to have a few days free. I'm nearly sure that was a premonition and we'll have to be ready for it."  
  
Dragon nodded pensively. "Yeah, but the problem will be that Sirius is going to be here all the time, I don't want him to get involved, it could be dangerous and I think that the least people to know about this, the better. Then they will not have the chance to change what will happen."  
  
Further conversation was interrupted, by the sound of the kitchen door closing and footsteps approaching the stairs. Quickly, the three teens said goodbye and slipped into their rooms. Once his door was locked, Harry changed his pj's magically and lay down in his bed. He closed his eyes, relaxing in the darkness of his room, and by the time Professor Villjé opened his door to check on him, he was already half asleep.  
  
To be continued…  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. 


	11. A bad feeling

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
Harry awoke early the next morning, he debated if he should get up, but remembering what had happened last night he decided to just try to sleep some more, knowing from experience that Professor Villjé would send him back to bed anyway. He was nearly sleeping again when the door to his room opened, cracking an eye open, he saw Ron's familiar figure coming in.  
  
"Morning Griffin, you're up early."  
  
The red head smirked a bit and went to sit down on the bed next to him. "You too. Although it seems to me you're more lazy than I am."  
  
Harry opened both eyes now and scowled at his friend. "Well it's you who professor Villjé will be mad at when she finds you out of bed, you know how she gets."  
  
Ron laughed softly. "Yeah, I know, but don't worry, I'm planning on being in my bed by the time she wakes up."  
  
Raising an eyebrow, Harry asked, "If that's so, what brings you to my room? Wouldn't it be easier to just stay in yours?"  
  
Harry saw Ron's face become serious and frowned. "What is it, Griffin?"  
  
"I don't really know, Dragon, I just have a bad feeling about today, I thought I better tell you that before it catches us by surprise."  
  
Dragon nodded solemnly, he had long ago learned to trust Ron's feelings and knew that if the redhead was warning him, then something would go seriously wrong. "Don't you have any idea what's going to happen?"  
  
Ron shook his head sadly. "I would have told you if I did, Dragon, the stars are not really helping out."  
  
Harry was about to reply, when they both heard sounds coming from another part of the house, nodding to Harry, Ron slipped out of the room and into his own room just before Professor Villjé came out of her own room. Harry quickly shut his eyes and listened carefully as the woman opened the door to the room next to his, where Hermione was. A few moments later, the door was closed again and the door in front of his own was opened.  
  
The small ritual of checking on them in the morning had begun shortly after they had tried to kill themselves because they tended to sneak out early morning and not return till late evening. The first time they had done it, Professor Villjé had been in hysterics thinking they had gone off to hurt themselves again, luckily they had returned before she could get people to search for them. It had been one of the only times she had grounded them and now that Harry thought about it, with good reason. The boy relaxed when he heard the door of his own room open, Professor Villjé came in and rearranged the blankets around him, tucking him in snugly. Harry sighed, he loved the care with which the professor always did that, after a childhood deprived of any care. He longed for this little moments in which he allowed himself to be cuddled like a child. The woman gently kissed his forehead and then silently left the room.  
  
Harry dozed for a while, knowing he wouldn't be able to see his friends till the professor had left. And even so they would have to be careful about Sirius. It was already a wonder Professor Villjé was going to work, and Dragon suspected she had told him the rules. The woman had made those rules with Dr Matt for the times he wanted them to stay at home, because it was of little use that they stayed at home and then exerted themselves. Professor Villjé was very adamant that they followed each and every rule, and after having been grounded a few times, they had finally decided to follow them, even if it only was so they would be released from their forced imprisonment earlier.  
  
One of those rules, probably the one they loathed the most, was the amount of forced bed-rest imposed on them. It was a test on their patience and they tended to sneak into each other's rooms as often as they could get away with it. Which was a lot as long as the Professor didn't notice.  
  
Dragon's eyes snapped open as soon as the front door opened and then closed, he still could hear noise coming from the kitchen but the sound of the departing care assured him it was Sirius doing the noise and that Professor Villjé had indeed left.  
  
Barely a minute later, his door opened again and Hermione slipped in, still dressed in her pyjamas. She smiled at him as he sat up in bed, giving her place to sit down. "Morning, Dragon."  
  
"Morning, Phoenix, how did you sleep?"  
  
The girl shrugged. "Fine, I guess. There were not any other nightmares. How about you?"  
  
"Same, although it seems Griffin had some trouble."  
  
The girl rose an eyebrow and looked at him questioningly just when the redhead came in. "Morning Phoenix."  
  
"Morning. What happened, Griffin?"  
  
The boy's face darkened. "I'm not sure, Phoenix, it's just a bad feeling I've had since I woke up, a feeling that something bad is going to happen today. But I can't pinpoint it, it's very frustrating."  
  
The three of them sighed, all knew the feeling Ron was talking about. They had experienced it often enough.  
  
Phoenix sighed and leaned against the wall. "So? What do we do about it?"  
  
Dragon shrugged. "What can we do about it besides wait?"  
  
Phoenix sighed once again. "Why was I afraid you would tell me that?"  
  
Before Dragon could answer her, they heard soft footsteps climbing the stairs and the three teens froze. Griffin quickly took a look at his watch and groaned. "Damn it, it's nine o'clock, that must be Sirius who is coming to get us. We're dead."  
  
Phoenix shook her head and grabbed his arm. "No, we're not, we can get to our rooms through the window, even if you'll have to cross the roof. Come on, we have to get out of here. Dragon, do us a favour and distract him long enough for us to have time to reach our room."  
  
Harry looked at his friends, who were already at the window. "How am I supposed to do that? And how do you know he will check on me first?"  
  
Phoenix looked at him annoyed. "How am I supposed to know? I need to get to my room. You have a brain, use it!"  
  
With that, the girl disappeared and left Harry alone, trying to figure out what to do. He really didn't have that much time, it sounded like Sirius had finished climbing the stairs. Suddenly, Harry narrowed his eyes, and idea had entered his mind. He didn't slow down to think about it, he just laid down, back in bed. Muttering something, he was suddenly covered in sweat. Closing his eyes and hoping this would work, he started to scream.  
  
Hermione, stopped for a moment while she tried to climb into her room, anxiously wondering if Harry was in trouble, but not sensing anything wrong in the room and knowing Sirius would likely already be in there made her decide to continue to her own room.  
  
Harry's efforts were rewarded when he heard someone violently entering the room, for the show, he began to trash on his bed, fighting the hands that were trying to hold him still. Faintly he heard Sirius call his name above his screams. He kept up the act some moments longer and then sat up sharply, opening his eyes and taking raged breaths. Strong arms drew him towards someone's chest while he regained his breath. His senses told him Ron and Hermione had safely reached his rooms so he allowed himself to relax against his godfather's chest. Sirius was rubbing his back, trying to calm him down, all the way murmuring comforting things. The door to his room opened again and his friends appeared at the door with worried looks on their faces. Without being seen by Sirius, Harry winked at them, making them smile slightly. That had gone well, now they only had to deal with Sirius.  
  
To be continued.  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. By the way, if anyone wishes to read The Betrayal in French, the author Sun Princess is doing a wonderful work translating it. You will find it under the name of "La Trahison"  
  
http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=849109  
  
I hope you enjoy it. 


	12. Painful reminders

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
They all stayed in silence for a while, Sirius still hugging Harry tightly. Ron and Hermione had moved into the room, acting like the two concerned friends so Sirius didn't suspect anything. Finally, Harry pushed away and shakily smiled at his godfather, feeling a bit guilty at the concerned gaze the other man shot him. Sirius brushed some hair out of his sweaty forehead. "What happened, Harry? Are you alright?"  
  
The boy nodded lightly, and looked down. "I'm fine, Sirius." The man frowned at him darkly, clearly indicating he didn't believe a word of it. "Really I am, I just had a nightmare, you get used to them after a while."  
  
"What was the nightmare about?"  
  
Harry looked up at his friends, a slightly panicked look in his eyes. He knew by the tone of voice his godfather had used that he wouldn't let the matter go, but what was he supposed to say? He certainly had had his share of nightmares, but they were mostly about Voldemort and he didn't want to tell Sirius about them.  
  
Phoenix came to his rescue. "Was it about that day, Harry?"  
  
Dragon looked a tad bit confused at her, but then she saw her hand wrapped lightly about her wrist. He frowned, he didn't want to get into that matter again, but there wasn't much of a choice, he had to give Sirius an answer.  
  
Harry looked down, his long bangs covering his eyes, in a soft voice he said, "please, Phoenix, don't bring it up."  
  
Sirius looked confused between the two, Ron, having caught on to what his best friends were trying to do, turned to look out of the window, wondering if it really was worth it. "They are talking about Christmas."  
  
Hermione, who was the only one looking at Sirius at the moment, saw him grow pale. She hated doing this, but it would not only help in getting them out of trouble, it would also help Sirius accept what had happened. Ignoring that they had tried to kill themselves would only bring more problems later on. She knew it very well, or they wouldn't have reached the point of suicide. Shaking her head, she looked on as Sirius stiffly stood up. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes, get dressed."  
  
And without another word the man walked out of the room. The three teens stayed where they were for a moment. Dragon looked up, a deep sadness in his eyes. "Was that necessary, Phoenix? We could have thought about something else."  
  
The girl sighed and sat down lightly on the bed. "He has to deal with it, Dragon. How can you go live with him if he can't accept the fact that you have problems? It will not only be uncomfortable, but it could turn out to be dangerous, you know it as good as I do."  
  
Harry nodded regretfully. "I know, he has to learn what to expect when we have a bad day."  
  
Ron sat down with his two best friends. "And it's better for everyone if he learns it while you're still living here, where Professor Villjé or the two of us can help him."  
  
Harry sighed and lay back down on the bed. "I know. Do you think we should stay up here for a while, to allow him to compose himself?"  
  
Griffin shrugged lightly. "That's a good idea, but we might as well get dressed, just in case he calls us down."  
  
The other two teens nodded and Hermione left the room with Ron. Harry got dressed in some warm, grey sports clothes. Knowing he wouldn't probably be allowed to leave the house, there was no sense in dressing up. Once he was finished and had cleaned up his room, he sat down in his chair, wondering what would happen. Ron had never been wrong on his premonitions, and sadly, Dragon doubted he would be wrong this time.  
  
A soft sound made him look up. In a corner of his room, between the desk and the wall sat the snake Ron had given him for Christmas. At first he had been too upset to pay him much attention, but luckily Hermione had taken care of his new pet and given it back to him after a few days. Harry had not had much trouble with it, since it slept most of the time, but it seemed that Slith was wide-awake now. Dragon sighed and standing up, moved to the container where the snake slept.  
  
"Hello little friend."  
  
"Hello, how long have I been asssleep?"  
  
Raising an eyebrow, Harry answered. "About five daysss, why?"  
  
"Jussst wondering why you're here. It'sss light outside, you ssshould be in ssschool."  
  
Harry smiled softly. "Yesss I ssshould, but Professsor Villjé forbade it, Doc sssaysss we're ssstresssed out."  
  
The snake slithered up his arm and settled around his neck. "And he'sss probably right."  
  
Harry pouted at him. "On whossse ssside are you?"  
  
Slith pulled his tong out in amusement. "On yoursss, that'sss why I agree with them."  
  
Dragon rolled his eyes. "You're weird."  
  
"Ssso you tell me often enough."  
  
Before Harry could reply, Sirius called them from downstairs. "Harry, Ron, Hermione! Breakfast is ready!"  
  
Harry calmly walked out of the room after having put Slith back in his container. He met up with his friends on the stairs and after having shared a silent look they walked downstairs.  
  
Sirius was sitting in one of the kitchen chairs, reading the newspaper. Harry looked at him intently, but besides the pale look of his skin, nothing else seemed to indicate that anything was wrong. The man looked up at them when they came in and smiled slightly. "There you are, I was starting to think you had decided to stay up there all day."  
  
The three teens smiled at him, even if Griffin thought that wasn't a bad idea. They quickly apologised for taking so long and sat down in front of their plates while Sirius returned to his newspaper.  
  
Harry noticed the man wasn't eating anything. "Sirius? Aren't you going to have breakfast?"  
  
Without looking up, the man answered his godson. "I had breakfast earlier today with Daleila."  
  
Harry looked at him hesitantly, not really sure if he believed that, but a warning look on Phoenixe's face made him drop the matter. She was right, there was no sense in forcing the situation right now.  
  
  
  
After breakfast, the teens went into the living room with Sirius, since he wanted to keep an eye on them. Dragon suspected it had something to do with all the books that were in their rooms and that another of the rules Daleila had set up was a limited time for studying, which at times was even more annoying than the forced bed-rest.  
  
The four of them were playing a muggle game Hermione had brought down when Ron went very still. His bright eyes dulled, and he had a far-away look. Recognising the signs of a vision, Hermione and Harry held Sirius away, quietly explaining what was going on. The vision didn't last long. Abruptly, Ron's eyes came back to focus and he sharply stood up.  
  
"About thirty death eaters, Greenings, get a move, Snape, Lupin and the others will not be able to hold them off for long."  
  
To be continued.  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews.  
  
There's another thing, I've started an updating group since so much people were asking to be notified of the updates, you can find it at: groups.yahoo.com/group/polaris_45 if you want to receive a mail when I update subscribe into it. If you don't know how to do it, sent me a mail and I'll tell you. I hope it will go better this way. 


	13. Death

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
They all stayed still for a moment, trying to sort out what Ron had said. Finally, Harry sprang up, followed closely by his friends and godfather. While the three teens turned around to rush to the door, Sirius was already concentrating to apparate away. Luckily for him, Hermione noticed and roughly grabbed his arm, completely shattering his concentration. Before the older man could speak, she began to run, dragging him alongside. "Not in here, Sirius, there are apparition wards all over the place. You don't honestly think this place is unprotected, do you?"  
  
Without giving the man a chance to answer, Hermione dragged him outside. Ron and Harry were running in front of them, suddenly Hermione saw Ron shimmer and in his place a Griffin ran. Without a second thought, Harry jumped on his back and both began to fly. Hermione turned towards the man running next to her.  
  
"Ron and Harry will go there flying. We'll have to apparate, ok? Lets go."  
  
Sirius simply nodded, he needed his breath to keep up with the girl. Suddenly Hermione grabbed his hand and forced him to apparate with her. They landed with a soft pop on a side street across the school. Sirius leaned tiredly against the wall, he knew he was in good shape, but Hermione could sure outrun him at any time. Besides, the forced apparition hadn't been fun either and he felt a bit dizzy about it. A soft hand was placed on his forehead. Opening his eyes he saw Hermione's concerned eyes on him.  
  
"Are you ok? Sorry about that, but we couldn't risk getting separated."  
  
Still trying to regain his breath, Sirius was only able to nod. A warm feeling started to run through his body, getting rid of his exhaustion. The man frowned and looked as the girl in front of him put her hand down.  
  
"What did you do?"  
  
Hermione smiled lightly. "That doesn't matter, Sirius. Come on, we should get going, Ron and Harry will not take much long to get here."  
  
Both started to move down the street, trying to keep in the shadows as much as possible. It was doubtful any death eater would be watching but there wasn't any sense in risking it. "Where will Harry and Ron join us?"  
  
Hermione shrugged, stopping next to the wall that separated the school's grounds from the street. "No idea, but we probably are going to get in separated. Help me jump, please."  
  
Silently Sirius lifted her up onto the wall, and then with her help he climbed next to her. "Do you have any plan?"  
  
Hermione jumped onto the other side, lightly landing on the ground. She waited for the older man to join her before answering. "I'm not sure, because I don't know what's going on in there. I would love to wait and look what's happening, but that would be foolish, knowing the Death Eaters, I don't doubt they have already killed they share of people. We better get going, stun all the Death Eaters we meet and just get to the hall as soon as possible."  
  
Sirius looked at her sceptically, he didn't like that plan very much, but the girl had already begun to move and he didn't have a choice but follow her.  
  
Soon, they reached the main building. So far they had only met a few Death Eaters who didn't even stand a chance against Hermione. The girl easily took them by surprise and stunned them. Sirius on the other hand had reverted to his canine form so he could move around easier. Since Hermione didn't seem to need his help right now, he snuffled around for the scent of Death Eaters, alerting the girl of anyone sneaking up on them. Once they were inside, things started to get more difficult. More and more black robed men were appearing and it was difficult to stun one without another noticing. Hermione soon got tired of the sneakiness and started to stun the Death Eaters as soon as they appeared, not bothering in trying to stay hidden. Seeing the change of pattern in the girl's attack, Sirius turned back to human and joined her, happily stunning Voldemort's soldiers left and right. This way they had stunned nearly fifty Death Eaters by the time they reached the doors that lead to the main hall. Hermione was sure most students and Death Eaters were there, so she had led Sirius there. Sirius and Hermione stopped outside the doors for a moment, to try to calm themselves. The man could tell Hermione was nervous and he understood. Only God knew what they would find at the other side. He was starting to feel nervous too, after all, his best friend had been in the school when the attack happened. He knew Moony was completely able to defend himself, but he also was aware that his friend wouldn't hesitate to do everything possible to help the children, even if that meant bringing himself in danger. Hermione's soft voice pulled him out of his musings.  
  
"Griffin and Dragon are near, but I don't think we should wait for them. Are you ready to go in?" Sirius sighed, he would feel better to have his godson and his friend with them, but he also knew Hermione was right. "As ready as I'll ever be. Lets go."  
  
Hermione nodded, and with her wand tightly held in her hand, she blasted the door open. Sirius ran in after her. The sight that met their eyes was devastating. Dozens of bodies were lying around, some were still, clear sign that they had been hit by the killing curse. Others were writhing in pain, showing that they were still alive. Hermione forced herself to ignore the horrible sight. She couldn't do anything for the death, it was the ones that were alive that needed her attention. With a small cry she rushed towards the nearest group of death Eaters that was fighting against Lavender and Seamus who were trying to defend some of the smaller children. Both teens smiled, torn between relieve and fear, when they saw her appear behind the Death Eaters. Before the black-robed men had the chance to see what the teens were smiling at, a huge force knocked them of their feet and into the nearest wall, rendering them unconscious. The sound of bodies hitting a wall attracted the attention of the whole room, and a strange silence descended. Hermione smirked a bit and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"That was not very polite of you, starting a party without inviting us."  
  
One of the Death Eaters, Hermione was not able to recognise him, spoke out loud.  
  
"It's the Granger girl. If she's here, Potter and Weasley won't be far away. It seems it's our lucky day, the master will be pleased."  
  
The Death Eaters cheered, making Hermione smirk. She was sure that when this was finished they would not be so happy. Everything was quite. Everyone was waiting for someone to start moving, to initiate the fight. The students were now huddled in a corner of the room, with Professors Lupin and Snape in front of them. Sirius was standing over a group of muggle teachers, trying to calm them down. All the Death Eaters were focused on Hermione and in the end that became their downfall. Out of nowhere, the sound of breaking crystal ran through the hall, Hermione took is at a sign to start fighting while the big Griffin soared around the room.  
  
The Death Eaters started to move and soon were surrounding Hermione in a blur of curses and fists. The girl was having a hard time, trying to keep up with all the attacks, she was somewhat relieved when Harry joined into the fight, throwing curses left and right, and propelling as much Death Eaters as he could into the walls.  
  
While his friends fought, Griffin had transformed back and was walking around the fallen muggles, trying to find those who were still alive and put them to safety. He was mildly relieved to see that most students had been killed by the killing curse. Knowing that they would be able to revive them, Ron carefully pulled them towards Sirius, knowing the older man would keep the bodies safe. Sadly there were a few who had been killed with knifes and other curses, and Ron knew he would not be able to do anything to help them. Those were carefully put away so they would be able to get a proper burial, and foremost, wouldn't disturb his friends while they fought. Ron was pulling the last bodies away when he froze. He knew what his eyes were seeing, but he didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be true. It just wasn't right.  
  
But there was no denying. Lying there, with a knife deeply buried in her chest, was Professor Daleyla Villjé.  
  
To be continued.  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. 


	14. Losing control

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" Ron's anguished cry ran through the room, stopping all the fighters.  
  
Harry and Hermione immediately turned towards their friend, wondering what was wrong. Their question was answered as soon as they saw the figure lying at Ron's feet. The whole room had become deathly silent; no one dared to say anything, seeing the fury now roaring in the teenagers' eyes. Then someone made a sound.  
  
One of the Death Eaters began to laugh.  
  
It became their end.  
  
The three teens snapped their heads up at the same time, their eyes were now a ragging gold colour, a furious wind started to flow through the room and golden auras enveloped the teens. The rage in the air was nearly palpable, and the Death Eaters started to grow nervous; they knew things weren't going well. As one, the three teens turned to face them, now floating a foot in the air, and as one, the Death Eaters fell down, screaming in agony. No curse had been uttered, no movement coming from the teenagers, just those burning golden eyes that seemed to be able to bring unbearable pain to those who deserved it. The wind was starting to grow stronger, making the whole room tremble under its fury. Slowly but surely, the Death Eaters started to float and suddenly they were being propelled into the walls of the room with sickly crashes. Again and again, the black robed men were flung against the wall; only the sounds of their impacts were heard in the room, since the men were unable to scream anymore.  
  
Sirius watched this display of power in horror, he could barely believe that those three people standing there, shinning with power, were the same teens he had been watching this morning. For the first time he truly realised how dangerous they were and knew that if they weren't stopped, they would kill all the Death Eaters. Gathering his courage, he stepped forward slightly, and in a strong voice called out to them. "Ron, Harry, Hermione, stop it! You're going to kill them!"  
  
But the teens paid him no heed; they seemed to be lost in their rage. Sirius walked a bit closer but was restrained by a firm arm around his waist. Turning, he saw Remus standing behind him.  
  
"Let me go, Remus."  
  
"There's no way in hell I'm letting you get closer to them, Padfoot, they're completely out of control."  
  
"But."  
  
Suddenly the Death Eaters stopped moving. They were still floating in the air, held up by an invisible force, but they were no longer crashing into the walls. As far as Sirius could tell, they were all unconscious, and some might even be dead. Turning towards the teens, he saw they were looking up, as if listening to something. The wind slowly died away. Turning towards his best friend, Sirius saw that Remus was also hearing something. Then the sound became clearer and he was able to hear it too. It was the soft tune of a phoenix, very similar to what Fawkes used to sing, but yet so different. Then, a small golden light started to appear in front of the teens and a soft voice ran through the minds of everyone present.  
  
"My children, you have to calm down. You can't allow rage to consume you. Close your eyes, come with me."  
  
In a haze, Sirius saw his godson and his two friends obey and in a flash of light they disappeared. The Death Eaters fell down in a loud crash, startling the silence that now reigned in the hall.  
  
At the same time, the doors to the Hall opened and Dumbledore came in followed by fifty aurors. They all stopped dead in their tracks at the sight that met them. Turning towards his teachers, the old headmaster uttered the question that was now running through all their minds. "What happened?"  
  
When Dragon opened his eyes again, he saw that he was in the same dark space he had been in more than a year before. Both his friends were lying on either side of him, still completely out of it. In front of them the huge form of the golden phoenix appeared. He seemed to be waiting patiently for them to awaken. Slowly, the young boy stood up. His whole body was aching, probably from the great energy he had spent. With a shudder, he remembered what his friends and he had done. Never had he lost control of himself in such way, and he could do nothing but hope it would never happen again. Slowly, he approached the glowing phoenix; he could clearly feel the concern and disappointment radiating from the bird. He silently came to a stop in front of it and waited patiently for the phoenix to speak. Not five minutes later, he felt the calm presence of Hermione coming to a halt next to him, slipping her hand into his, looking for comfort. He gently squeezed her hand without looking away from the mighty phoenix hovering in front of them. It took Ron some more minutes to join them. He came to a halt on Hermione's other side and also took her hand. They stayed silent. There was no need for words. They each understood what the other was feeling, the sadness, the fear, and the anger that was still in their minds. They could also clearly sense the phoenix, as a small light pulsating in the back of their minds. It had always been there, since the fateful Christmas, but they often ignored it, only drawing comfort from the brilliant light when it was needed.  
  
The silence was broken by the Phoenix's soft voice in their minds. "You should not have done that." They didn't answer. There was nothing to say that would justify their actions and they knew it. So they calmly waited for the reproaching words of the bird, that they deserved. "You shouldn't have lost control like that. You have been trained and prepared to fight, to always keep control. When you melded and accepted part of my gift, you knew how dangerous it would be to lose control. Now you've seen it for yourselves, and I hope that will be enough for you to no let it happen again." The three of them looked down and nodded slightly. The silence stretched for a long moment before the phoenix spoke again. This time, his tone was gentle. "I think you should take some time for yourselves, to deal with what has happened. Look for a new apartment, another school, break the connection with the wizarding world for a while longer."  
  
The three teens looked up at him and shrugged lightly; they didn't really care right now about what they should do. Harry was suddenly feeling very tired, not only physically but also emotionally. He wanted all the sadness, fear, and anger to stop; he just wanted to be able to live a normal life. Well, as normal as the Boy-Who-Lived could. His eyelids grew heavier and after a few moments, he gave in into the deep sleep that was claiming him.  
  
To be continued.  
  
A/N: Sorry it took so long, but I'm trying to finish Free so I don't have so many stories going on at the same time. Until it's finished I'm not going to be updating this very often, but I promise I'll finish it, so don't worry. Thanks for all reviews. 


	15. Returning home

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
A warm feeling was surrounding Harry. He didn't know where he was at the moment but he knew that he was safe and there was no reason to wake up just yet. As he slowly became more aware of his surroundings, he noticed that he was lying on something soft and that a light blanket covered his thin form snugly, keeping him warm. A soft hiss finally managed to bring him back to consciousness. Opening his eyes slightly, he noticed he was in his own room, in Professor Villjé's house. A stab of sadness crossed his heart when he remembered the still body of the woman he had come to love as his mother.  
  
The soft hiss rang again across the room, and this time he was able to understand what Slyth was saying.  
  
"Young massster. Are you finally awake?"  
  
Harry groaned slightly and sat up, his head was pounding painfully and his mouth felt dry. Without thinking, he conjured a glass of water and drank a bit from it. "Yesss, I'm awake."  
  
The little snake hissed happily. "You're finally awake!"  
  
Harry smiled a bit at the small snake, but then grimaced. His head was hurting him more and more, and soon he was forced to lie back on the bed and close his eyes, even so, he continued to talk with his pet in soft tones.  
  
"How long hasss it been?"  
  
"It'sss been three daysss sssince you went downstairsss and two daysss sssince you appeared back here." Slyth paused for a moment before adding. "There'sss strange people walking around."  
  
Harry frowned and opened his eyes a bit, regarding the snake curiously. "Ssstrange people?"  
  
"Yesss, one of them isss that man that wasss ssstaying with you before."  
  
Harry frowned a bit and quickly supplied the name. "Sssiriusss?"  
  
The snake nodded his head slightly, which would have made Harry laugh if he hadn't been hurting so much. "Yesss, that'sss hisss name." He paused for a moment, looking intently towards the boy lying in bed and then added. "I don't know the other three, but two of them sssmell rather sssimilar to you."  
  
Harry closed his eyes again and frowned. Smelled like him, there were only two people who would smell like him. Softly, he groaned and extended his senses, afraid of what he would find. He easily located four auras in the kitchen. Moving closer, he was greeted by the familiar aura of his godfather. After a few moments, he was also able to recognise Professor Lupin's. With a small sigh, already guessing who the two other people were, he turned his senses towards them and was not surprised to recognize the auras of his parents. Groaning softly, he sank deeper into his pillow. If there was one thing he didn't want to deal with right now, it was his parents. He debated whether he should try to get up and get it over with, or just try to ignore their presence until he was thinking more clearly. Finally, the second option won after a rather painful hammering in his head.  
  
He was just on the verge of falling back asleep, when he heard soft footsteps walking up the stairs. Opening his eyes a bit, he listened carefully as the footsteps entered a room, Griffin's by the sound of it. Whoever it was left after a few minutes and then Harry heard them approach his door. Quickly, the boy closed his eyes and relaxed against the pillows; he really didn't want them to know he was awake yet. Not until he had the chance to talk to his friends and to figure out why on earth his parents were there.  
  
The door to his room opened slowly and two people came in. His senses immediately picked up his mother's and Remus' auras. And even if he hadn't figured it out himself, the hisses that were coming from Slyth would have informed him to the identity of his two visitors. Suddenly, a soft hand was pressed against his cheek and he was able to smell his mother's perfume. With great effort, he managed to stay still as the hand moved from his cheek to his forehead. A soft voice broke the silence.  
  
"He still has a fever, Remus."  
  
Harry heard the man come closer and suddenly, the soft hand was replaced by a cold cloth, which made some of his headache go away. Harry suppressed his sigh, knowing that Remus would hear him if he made any sound. His mother spoke again.  
  
"When do you think they will wake up?"  
  
Remus' voice sounded a bit cold when he answered. "I don't know, Lily, you know I don't know it any more than you do."  
  
A soft sigh followed his statement. "I know, Remy, I'm sorry."  
  
After his mother's hand brushed his cheek one last time, Harry heard her move away from the bed and out of the room. Harry listened carefully, waiting for Remus to leave too, but it seemed that the man wasn't going to move from his place near him.  
  
"Harry?" Dragon didn't move, making Remus sigh. "I know you're awake, Kid, please, just open your eyes."  
  
Allowing a soft sigh escape from his dry lips, Harry opened his eyes slightly. Remus was bending over him, his soft brown eyes looking down at him worriedly.  
  
"Are you ok, Harry?"  
  
Harry shivered a bit from the cold coming from the cloth. "Hurts."  
  
Remus sat down next to him. "What hurts?"  
  
"Everything. My head especially."  
  
Harry didn't see his professor nod since he had closed his eyes again. "Try to go back to sleep, Kid, I'll see if I can get Madam Pomfrey to give me some potion."  
  
Harry nodded, but he was barely aware of the man, quickly falling back to unconsciousness.  
  
Once Remus was sure Harry had fallen back to sleep, he stood up and left the room. Lily was waiting for him outside, leaning against Hermione's door. She looked at him intently but didn't say anything. The relationship between the four of them, Sirius, James, Remus and herself was strained to say the least, and she knew that before she could approach her son again, she would have to regain the trust of Sirius and Remus. She wasn't stupid enough to think that either Sirius or Remus would allow her or James to come too close to Harry, knowing how much they had hurt him.  
  
With a slight movement from his head, Remus motioned towards the door she was leaning against.  
  
"Come on, let's check on Hermione and we can go back downstairs. I need to call Madam Pomfrey for a potion."  
  
To be continued.  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews and a lot of thanks to my beta reader, Vinnie. 


	16. Mind link

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
The next time Harry woke up, he was aware of someone holding his hand loosely. By the dim light that came in through the curtains, he could tell it was barely morning. Looking at his side, he saw his godfather sitting there, sleeping in a chair. Harry didn't move, he didn't want to wake Sirius up because the man looked exhausted. Besides, even if the pain had diminished a bit, he could still feel a slight pounding in his head and his limbs felt very heavy.  
  
Suddenly, a soft whisper ran through his mind. 'Good morning, Dragon.'  
  
Harry looked slightly confused, he was sure no one had spoken out loud, yet he could hear the voice perfectly fine. Not only that, he also recognised the soft voice. "Phoenix?!"  
  
Sirius stirred a bit but luckily didn't wake up. Harry sighed softly and turned his thoughts towards the voice he was suddenly hearing in his head.  
  
The girl's voice laughed softly. 'Yep. Unless you know of any other girl that can speak in your mind like that?'  
  
Harry blinked confusedly for a few moments, then slowly he spoke in his mind, assuming that the girl would be able to hear him. 'Phoenix, last time I checked, NO ONE was able to talk to me in my mind.'  
  
A deeper voice laughed alongside Hermione's. 'Well, last time we checked, we found out we could easily talk to each other, even if Phoenix had to convince me I was not loosing my mind.'  
  
Harry chuckled a bit at Ron's amused voice. 'And when, pray tell, did you make this little discovery?'  
  
Hermione's calm voice ran through his mind. 'About an hour ago, when Griffin woke up; I was thinking about sneaking out and going to his room when I heard him ask if he was losing his mind. It was quite funny.'  
  
Ron groaned loudly. 'It was not funny. Besides, you were just as confused as I was.'  
  
Hermione seemed to smile when she answered. 'True, but I wasn't ranting about going insane.'  
  
The sound of breaking glass stopped any further comments from the redheaded boy. Harry sat up abruptly, just in time to see Sirius fall out of his chair. Both stayed silent for a few moments, then Sirius stood up abruptly and launched himself onto his godson, gathering him in a tight hug.  
  
"Harry, are you alright? I was so worried."  
  
Harry blinked, trying to gather his thoughts and then he hesitantly put his arms around Sirius' waist, leaning into the warm hug. He heard an insistent voice in his mind, calling his name over and over again but he ignored it, answering his godfather's question instead.  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
Sirius pulled away and looked at him disbelieving. "You're fine? I don't think so, Harry, you have had a fever ever since you reappeared and every time we had to move you, you moaned non-stop. Now, I'll ask you again, how are you feeling?"  
  
Harry sighed and leaned his head against Sirius' shoulder. "My head hurts, and I'm sore, and I feel really heavy, other than that I'm fine, I promise."  
  
Sirius gently laid Harry down again and covered him up with the blankets that had gone flying when the boy had sat up abruptly. Carefully, the older man put a hand on the boy's forehead and frowned at the heat coming from it. "You still have a fever. I don't want you to get up, ok? I'm going downstairs to get you a potion and to see what those three have been doing down there. I'll be back in a bit, try to get some rest."  
  
Sirius stood up and tucked him in, then he walked to the door, but before he could leave, Harry's soft voice stopped him.  
  
"Sirius?"  
  
The man turned slightly to look at the tired teen. "Yes, Kido?"  
  
"Why are my parents here?"  
  
Sirius' face became a mixture of happiness and anger. "That doesn't matter right now, Harry, just try to get some rest."  
  
Harry wanted to protest at that answer, but Sirius had already left the room and closed the door behind him. Sighing, the boy relaxed back into his pillows, closed his eyes to try and lessen the pain in his head, and turned his thoughts towards his friends.  
  
'Phoenix? Griffin?'  
  
The girl's voice answered him first. 'Not right now, Dragon, I'm arguing with Remus.'  
  
Harry wondered what they were arguing about when Ron's voice filled his mind. 'Hey, Dragon, I tried to talk to you but you didn't answer.'  
  
'Sorry about that, Brother, but Sirius was here and I had to keep my attention with him. It wouldn't do us any good for them to be suspicious.'  
  
Ron chuckled a bit. 'As if he isn't already; with all the things we do, he would be stupid to not think we're weird.'  
  
'True, but let's try to keep it to a minimum.' He paused for a moment before speaking again. 'Do you know why Phoenix is arguing with Remus?'  
  
'Mmh, I think it had something to do with the fact that she left her room as soon as she heard the crash. I don't think Remus was very happy with her for it.'  
  
Harry couldn't help but chuckle when Hermione's voice joined them. 'Umph, that, Griffin, was an understatement. Damn man is too stubborn; I only wanted to know what they had broken.'  
  
Ron laughed. 'But, Phoenix, Remus told us to stay in bed no matter what happened, and you even agreed to it.'  
  
Hermione frowned. 'I had forgotten. Why didn't you remind me?'  
  
Ron couldn't help but laugh harder. 'I tried, but you were too quick.'  
  
Hermione sighed and Harry broke into their discussion. 'Did you at least find out what they had broken?'  
  
Hermione shrugged. 'Yeah, it was just a cup. Don't worry, they repaired it as soon as it got broken.'  
  
Ron's voice sounded soft and cold when he spoke. 'It was not Professor Villjés' cup, was it?'  
  
Hermione's sad voice rang through their heads. 'No, it wasn't.'  
  
They stayed in silence for a few moments, none of them knowing what to say. They really didn't have to say much; each understood what the other was feeling. Ever since they had met The Phoenix for the first time, they had become closer. And this seemed to be the last step; their minds had been connected in a way none of them knew was possible. Because while they talked, they didn't only hear the words, they felt them, too. They felt every emotion that lay behind their friend's voices. They understood the hidden meaning behind the words, they would never again be able to hide anything from the other one, and they were one. Three bodies with what seemed to be one soul.  
  
Harry was startled from his musings when he felt a hand lying against his cheek. Slowly, he opened his eyes and came face to face with the concerned face of his mother.  
  
To be continued.  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. And thanks to my beta-reader, Vinnie. 


	17. Arguments

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
Harry froze in his spot, staring intently into his mother's green eyes. Then, instinct kicked in and he quickly withdrew, pressing himself against the wall next to his bed, trying to get the as far away from his mother as possible. The green eyes that had been watching him gleamed with hurt and his mother let her arm fall on the bed. But even then, he didn't move. For a few, tense moments, they continued to stare at each other. Harry wished that his mother would just leave; he wasn't ready to face her. On her part, Lily was trying to think of something to say, but the blank face at her wasn't helping much. Finally, much to their relief, a voice broke the silence.  
  
"Lily."  
  
Harry and his mother looked towards the door and saw a frowning Sirius standing there. The woman sighed and stood up, knowing Harry's godfather was not happy to see her there in Harry's room. He had become even more overprotective of the young teen and it had taken James and her hours to convince him into allowing them to remain in the house. Without a word, she left the room, feeling that her son's green eyes were following her every move.  
  
Once she was gone, Harry relaxed against the pillows once again. He wasn't sure how he should be feeling, but right now he was relieved; he would not have to face his parents as long as Sirius was willing to keep them away. He watched as his godfather entered the room, a dark frown still etched upon his features. Sirius held out a cup to him and then helped him sit up so he could drink the potion the man had brought him.  
  
After drinking the blue potion, Dragon lay back into the pillows and looked at his godfather. The man was sitting silently at his side and seemed to be lost in thoughts. Harry contemplated if he should try to talk to him, but the growing drowsiness that surrounded him was making it difficult for him to think. Finally giving up to the drowsiness, he sent a small good night to his friends, who were also nearly asleep, and he closed his eyes, allowing the warm darkness to envelope him.  
  
He wasn't sure how long it had been since he fell asleep, when he was awoken by angry shouts coming from downstairs. Groggily opening his eyes, he tried to make out what those voices were arguing about but his headache only seemed to get worse if he tried to focus on the loud sounds. Since he didn't understand what was going on, he reached out to his friends, to see if they knew what had happened.  
  
'Phoenix, Griffin?'  
  
Hermione seemed to still be sleeping, because the only sound that reached him from her was a soft hum. On the other hand, Ron's voice immediately came up.  
  
'Hey, mate, what do you think is happening down there; I was just sleeping so comfortably.'  
  
Harry could clearly hear the annoyance tone in his friend's voice. 'I have no idea, but I feel like my head is going to burst; I hope they will shut up soon.'  
  
They waited for a few minutes, but it didn't seem like the people down there were going to be shutting up anytime soon. Harry blinked slightly when Hermione's sleepy voice rang through their minds. 'Guys, what on earth is going on?'  
  
Before Harry had the chance to reply, Ron's angry voice sounded through their head. 'Ok, that's it; I'm going down there and making them shut up. I'm in enough pain without them adding to it.'  
  
Harry didn't have the chance to answer before he heard Ron close the door to his room and walk down the stairs. A loud bang resounded through the house when Ron flung open the door that lead to the living room and then the Griffin's voice began to rant.  
  
"What the bloody hell is going on here! Unless you've not noticed, Dragon, Phoenix and I are not feeling well! And we were finally getting some rest and then you begin to argue so loud that the whole neighbourhood has probably heard you! Now you have two choices, either you shut the hell up or you leave this house, is that understood?!"  
  
Harry didn't hear the mumbled answer, but he didn't need to. The house was once again silent. Sighing, he closed his eyes again and smiled slightly. Trust Griffin to make things go the way he wanted. He heard Ron climb up the stairs again and enter his room.  
  
'Ok, people, mission accomplished, I think they are going to stay quiet now. Night.'  
  
Hermione's voice floated to them, answering to Ron. 'Night, guys.'  
  
Harry sighed sleepily and curled up between the blankets. 'Night.'  
  
In the living room, the four adults remained in silent shock for a few more minutes. They had been arguing about James and Lily being there, with Sirius furiously refusing to allow them to stay, having seen Harry's reaction to his mother and Remus trying to placate his friend. Lily and James, on the other hand, had tried to tell Sirius that they needed to make amends with Harry, but the black-haired man refused to listen to them. The argument had escalated to the point that everyone was shouting, even Remus, who usually kept his cool, had been forced to raise his voice to restrain Sirius. Finally, the bang of the door had make them shut up and an angry Ron Weasley starting to shout at them.  
  
Once the boy had gone back to his room, Remus had sunk down into his chair and buried his head in his hands.  
  
"Sometimes, we're such idiots."  
  
Sirius sighed and sat down next to his best friend. (A/N: Remus, obviously) Wrapping a gentle arm around the man's shoulders, he spoke softly, "it's ok, Remy, it's not your fault; you were only trying to calm us down. It's our fault things got out of hand."  
  
James nodded from his place next to Lily. "Sirius is right, Remus. Don't blame yourself."  
  
Sirius looked at the two Potters for a moment. "We are going to continue with this argument at another time. Right now I think we should keep the truce and help the kids back to health. When is Madam Pomfrey coming?"  
  
Remus looked up. "Tomorrow morning, first thing; she's still helping out the few Muggles that are still in her care"  
  
Sirius nodded and stood up. "In that case, I suggest we check on the kids and then go get some sleep ourselves. You know Poppy is going to go nuts if we don't get our rest. It was already hard enough to convince her to allow the trio to stay here, no sense in risking her wrath."  
  
The other occupants of the room chuckled, and Remus and Sirius left the living room while James and Lily transfigured the couch and settled in.  
  
Remus checked Ron and Hermione's room, and was pleased to see that both teens were once again sleeping peacefully. After closing the door to Phoenix's room, he went to the room Sirius and him shared. His friend joined him there a few minutes later.  
  
"Harry's sleeping again, what about Ron and Hermione?"  
  
Remus lay down on his bed. "They are sleeping too." After a few minutes of silence, he spoke again. "You really need to work things out with James and Lily, you can't keep getting into fights every time something like this happens."  
  
Sirius didn't answer until he was lying in bed. "I know, Remus, but I can't help it; I don't want them to hurt Harry again."  
  
"I understand that, Padfoot, I don't want it either, but I don't think they are going to do that anytime soon."  
  
Sirius frowned. "How can you be so sure, they have done it before."  
  
Remus turned slightly so he was facing his friend. "I'm sure because I was there when Dumbledore took matters in his own hands and forced them to listen to him."  
  
Sirius looked at his friend for a while. "You never told me what happened."  
  
Remus sighed and turned to face the ceiling. "Well, it was just after the Death Eater attack..."  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. And thanks to Vinnie for her wonderful work as my beta-reader. 


	18. Realisation

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
Flashback.  
  
Remus and Albus had just returned from the muggle school where the attack had taken place. Snape had taken the Hogwarts' students to the hospital wing so Madam Pomfrey would be able to check them out; Sirius had returned to the house Harry lived at, hoping to find the three teens there. Dumbledore and Remus walked towards the Headmaster's office, trying to think of a way to locate the three missing children. Dumbledore opened the door after having given the password to the gargoyle and was met with James and Lily sitting in his office. The old man frowned a bit; he was still a bit angry with the two of them for not giving Harry the chance to explain. Slowly, he walked in and sat behind his desk. Remus, who had also stopped short at the sight of his two friends, entered the room and went to sit down in one of the chairs. The old headmaster cleared his throat and looked questioningly at the couple.  
  
"James, Lily, did you need something important? If not, I will have to ask you to leave and wait for another day, Remus and I need to discuss some important matters."  
  
James frowned at the words and cast a questioning look towards his friend. "Did something happen?"  
  
Remus scowled slightly at him. "Yes, but I'm sure you're not interested, so if you could hurry up a bit..."  
  
Lily looked at him startled; it was very unlike the man she knew to speak so sharply. In a soft tone, trying to calm her friend, she spoke. "Remus, what happened? It's so unlike you to be in such a bad mood, maybe we can help."  
  
Remus' scowl deepened. "A muggle school was attacked today by Death Eaters."  
  
Lily gasped and covered her mouth in horror. James had paled dramatically. Dumbledore was looking at the three of them, watching carefully how things were developing. The woman was the one to break the tense silence. "How horrible, are you alright?" She then turned around to face Dumbledore. "Were you there on time to help them? The poor dears must have been terrified."  
  
Remus and Dumbledore looked at each other for a long time before the younger man answered. "We were not able to do much. Severus, the kids, and I tried to protect as many people as possible but there were just too many Death Eaters. It would have been a complete disaster had they not appeared."  
  
James looked at him with raised eyebrows. "They? I'm guessing Dumbledore and the aurors?"  
  
After exchanging another look with the old headmaster, Remus shook his head. "No, they as in Sirius, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter."  
  
Remus saw his two friends become tense, and James harshly spoke. "Don't call him that! He is not my son; he is some kind of Death Eater. I can't believe you fell for his act."  
  
Remus was seeing red; he wished he could have bashed his friend's head against something. Overcoming his anger, he spoke again. "Of course he is! That's why he nearly killed all those Death Eaters. It was all in the Dark Lord's plans; attack the school they attend while they were sick at home, kill their guardian, and then have them miraculously appear so they can kill all his Death Eaters. A brilliant plan that cost the Dark Lord at least ten members of his inner circle." Then Remus's anger got the better of him and he slammed his closed fist against the table. "Use your brain for once in your bloody life! That boy has been fighting against the Dark Lord forever and a day! He prevented him getting the Philosopher's Stone when he was just eleven, nearly getting himself killed. He went into the Chamber of Secrets and killed the basilisk living there to prevent Voldemort's memory from returning and saving one of his friends. He saved Sirius from the dementor's kiss in his third year. He duelled against Voldemort himself and barely escaped with his life! He is not just someone; he is Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived! Every single witch and wizard knows about him, so if you insist that he is not your son, that's fine, but that just means you should start to think of a new name, because there is no way in hell you're going to get anyone to call Harry Potter anything but Harry Potter."  
  
Remus sat back down, his face still flushed with anger. James and Lily were gaping at him, trying to process the information their friend had told them. Lily looked confused up at him. "That can't be possible."  
  
Remus scowled at her and stood up. "Wait here then. I'm going to get something."  
  
The couple looked towards the old headmaster, who was looking curiously towards the closed door. James opened his mouth. "Headmaster..."  
  
Dumbledore raised his hand. "Let's wait till Remus comes back."  
  
It took the other man ten minutes to come back, and when he did, he was carrying a stack of books, which he dropped on Dumbledore's desk. He looked at his friends, calmer now. "Here you go; all these books talk about Harry and all that he has done."  
  
Before they had a chance to answer, Dumbledore stood up as well and went to get his pensive. "Here you'll find some memories about Harry that I've been collecting through the last few years. There are even some from Harry himself." Having placed the pensive on his desk with the books, he motioned for Remus to come with him. "Come on, my boy, we can talk in the staff lounge, you still need to tell me in detail what happened."  
  
Without looking back at his friends, the younger man nodded and walked out, closely followed by Dumbledore.  
  
000ooo000ooo000ooo000ooo  
  
Severus and Minerva had joined Remus and Dumbledore, and the four of them were trying to find some way to locate the Trio. They were not having much luck in the matter; they could be anywhere. Suddenly, an owl flew through the open window. It landed in front of Remus, who quickly opened it. After reading the letter, the brown-haired man slumped back against his chair in relief. He looked at his companions with a slight smile. "They are back at their house, Sirius just saw them appear." Then he frowned a bit. "He asks if Madam Pomfrey can go, they seem to be unconscious."  
  
Everyone sighed in relief and they stood up. Dumbledore nodded to Remus. "Go get Poppy and go to them, they may need your help there. Minerva, Severus, I think it's time we went to the ministry."  
  
Everyone was about to walk out when a soft voice stopped them. "We're coming with you, Remus."  
  
Everyone turned to see Lily standing at the door with James hovering behind her. They all exchanged weary looks. "I'm not sure that's a good idea, Lily. I'm not sure how Harry is going to react to seeing you, but you can count that Sirius will not be happy."  
  
The woman bowed her head but shook her head. "I know, Remus, but we have to try." She looked back up, a determined glint in her eyes. "We're coming with you."  
  
Remus looked towards Dumbledore, who nodded slightly. Sighing, the brown- haired man nodded slightly. "Ok, you can come, but I'm already warning you that Sirius won't be happy."  
  
James and Lily nodded slightly. But before they moved, the man asked a question that had been bothering him. "How can Harry be a parselmouth?"  
  
Everyone looked towards Dumbledore and the old headmaster softly, but quickly, explained about Harry's link to Voldemort. James and Lily nodded in understanding and moved to join Remus, who had already started walking towards the other door. "Be careful, my children."  
  
They all turned to Dumbledore and nodded before leaving the room.  
  
End Flashback  
  
Remus looked at his friend. "That's about it, you know the rest."  
  
Sirius nodded pensively. "I still don't like them being here, Remus, but I guess they deserve a second chance, just as I did."  
  
Remus nodded. There was not much more to say, so they both went to sleep.  
  
To be continued...  
  
A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long, but I didn't know how to make James and Lily understand what was going on. Thanks to Cassie for helping me remember what I had planned ^.^ and special thanks to Vinnie for beta reading this. 


	19. The next day

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate  
  
Harry woke up slowly by the light coming into his room through the half closed window, he could tell it was still pretty early. Shifting a bit, he could feel that the pain in his muscles had lessened a bit and he was able to sit up slowly without feeling dizzy. Looking at the clock standing on the desk next to his bed, he confirmed his earlier suspicion seeing it was barely six o'clock in the morning. Slyth was still deeply asleep and didn't even wake up when Harry carefully got out of bed. Stretching his sore muscles a bit, he picked up a bathrobe and put it over his pyjamas. Harry slowly made his way out of his room and to the bathroom, trying to not make any noises since he knew that if either Sirius or Remus heard him, they would be at his side in a minute, demanding that he got back into bed before he fell down. As quickly as his tired body allowed, he took a warm shower. He was drying his long hair with a towel when Remus burst into the room, a worried frown etched on his face.  
  
Harry couldn't help but look at him a bit amused. "Good morning."  
  
Remus couldn't help but sigh in relief at seeing the boy standing there calmly. When he had woken up to the sound of running water, he had first thought that one of the adults was in the bathroom, but after checking on Sirius, James, and Lily, he had become worried. It had to be one of the children, and the state they had been in didn't reassure him that they would be alright by themselves since Hermione had barely managed to get back to her room the day before when James had broken that cup.  
  
Looking at the boy in front of him, he frowned a bit. "You shouldn't be out of bed, especially not if none of us are awake to help you if you start to feel ill."  
  
Harry nodded slightly. He had known that, but he actually had wanted to see if he was strong enough to do something by himself, without having anyone hovering over him. Sighing, he put the towel down and leaned against the sink, starting to feel tired. Remus put a hand on his forehead and his frown deepened at the feel of the feverish skin under his hand. Grabbing the tired boy by his arm, he gently helped him to get dressed, ignoring Harry's constant protests by telling him he should have stayed in bed if he didn't want to get embarrassed. Harry grumbled a bit at that, but allowed Remus to take him out of the bathroom and back to his bedroom. Remus waved his wand towards the bed, changing the sheets, while keeping an eye on Harry, who was now leaning lightly against his side. "Madam Pomfrey will have your head for getting out of bed on your own; she's going to come by later, and there's no way she will not notice that you're too tired."  
  
Harry groaned softly, and laid back down, snuggling into the warm blankets while Remus tucked him in. The older man stood at his side, and smiled down at him. "What do you want for breakfast?"  
  
Harry shrugged and closed his eyes. His little trip to the bathroom had taken much more out of him that he had thought it would. He felt a gentle hand running through his hair. "Harry?"  
  
The boy buried his head in the pillow and mumbled one word: "tired."  
  
Remus chuckled softly. "No wonder, you really shouldn't have been up yet. Go back to sleep, it's still early. Later in the morning, you'll have something to eat."  
  
Harry barely heard him, already falling into the deep and peaceful darkness.  
'WAKE UP!'  
  
Harry sat up in his bed abruptly, wincing in pain at his sharp movement and eyes wide open, trying to find the source of the shout. It took his sleepy mind a few moments to realize that the voice hadn't come from anywhere in his room, but rather from his own mind. Once he had established that fact, he finally managed to make out the sound of laughing coming from his best friend. With an annoyed sigh, he let himself lay back down and closed his eyes. 'Very funny, Griffin.'  
  
Before the other boy had the chance to answer him, Hermione's angry voice boomed through their heads. 'Griffin! I told you to leave Dragon alone!'  
  
The red head rolled his eyes in his room. 'Sorry, Dragon, but I couldn't resist the temptation.'  
  
Dragon growled a bit. 'Was there a particular reason for waking me up?'  
  
Phoenix sniffed. 'Actually, there was, but there wasn't any need to wake you up.'  
  
Ron spoke, ignoring Harry's exasperated sigh. 'We just thought you should know that Madam Pomfrey just arrived.'  
  
The black-haired boy groaned. 'Thank you so much, Griffin. I wish you had let me sleep, maybe she would have left me alone.'  
  
Both his friends laughed. 'Not a chance in hell, Brother. She would have just barged in there and waken you up, specially with Sirius around here. You know he's overprotective and would have insisted that she took a look at you no matter what.'  
  
Phoenix's sharp voice, cut Harry groan short. 'Quiet, try to make them think you're asleep, they're on their way up here.'  
  
Harry snuggled deeper under the blankets and relaxed as much as possible. He could feel some of the adults come down the hall, and he wasn't very surprised when he heard that his door was the first one to open. Madam Pomfrey always had had something of an obsession with him, probably due to all the times he had ended up in the hospital wing under her care.  
  
Harry sensed the nurse, Sirius, and his mother enter his room, and decided he had even more reasons to try and fake sleep since he really wasn't comfortable around the woman and didn't wish to talk to her. They all stopped at his bedside, and soon he could feel the warm magic of Madam Pomfrey running through his aching body. Once she was finished, he was half asleep, but he still managed to hear her words.  
  
"He's tired; the stunt they pulled with the Death Eaters took a lot out of them, and only Merlin knows what happened after that. Have any of you asked?"  
  
Sirius didn't bother to answer, but Harry guessed he had nodded, because Madam Pomfrey continued. "I see, I think someone should talk to them. Physically, they will be fine with a lot of rest, but they might need some help copping with what happened."  
  
This time Sirius answered verbally. "I don't think any of them will talk to us; they usually refuse to tell us much, but they have been going to a doctor regularly. He has known them for a long while, maybe he will be able to help."  
  
Madam Pomfrey nodded, and the young boy heard her put something on the bedside table. "I need you to give him these potions, Sirius, one is a pain potion and the other an energy restorer. I'm also going to leave a fever reducing potion, give it to him if his fever raises and then call me at once."  
  
Sirius nodded again and the two women moved to the door, intend to go to the next room.  
  
When they were alone, Sirius moved closer to the bed and sad down on the edge. Gentle hands gripped his shoulders and he was moved so he was leaning against his godfather's broad chest. His drowsiness was threatening to overtake him, but he still felt a cold goblet being placed against his lips. Sirius' voice spoke softly to his ear. "Come on, Harry, drink this, it will make you feel better."  
  
The boy didn't think that Sirius had noticed he was awake, but nevertheless, he moved his lips slightly to allow the bitter potion to fill his mouth. Deciding it was time to drop the act since his mother wasn't there anymore, he couldn't help but grimace a bit at the taste of the potion and opened his eyes slightly. Sirius tightened his grip on his waist, preventing him to move out of his grasp, while he continued to pour the potion down his throat. Harry swallowed as quickly as possible, trying to get it over with. When he was finally finished, Sirius removed the goblet from his mouth and Harry couldn't help but whimper a bit. He hated to seem so weak, but right now he couldn't help it, he was too tired. Sirius quickly shushed him and a new goblet was placed against his lips. Harry tried to move his head away from the goblet as much as possible, trying to prevent the potion to enter his mouth. Sirius sighed softly. "Harry, please, you need to drink this potion."  
  
Harry groaned slightly, but knowing he was not going to get away from it, he kept his head still when the goblet returned to his lips. This potion was spicier; it made him feel like he was on fire before leaving him completely exhausted, leaning limply against the other man. They both stayed still for a few moments, while Harry felt his headache disappear and his body relax even more, the pain in his limbs disappearing, leaving him sleepy. He was about to drop off when Sirius shook him lightly. "Harry, stay awake, you need to eat something."  
  
The boy whimpered, he wasn't hungry; he just wanted to sleep. Ignoring the other man, Harry buried himself deeper in his godfather's arms. Sirius sighed again, Harry was really starting to get a bit difficult, but he guessed he was just not feeling well. Picking up the bowl of cereal he had brought with him from the kitchen, he tried to feed the small boy. Unluckily for him, Harry really didn't want to eat anything, so when he felt a spoon trying to make his way inside his mouth, he flung it aside with a bit of magic. Sirius blinked in surprise when he felt the spoon flee out of his hand and bang against a wall, falling near Slyth, who woke up with a sharp hiss. Harry didn't mind his snake, he was more curious as to what Sirius was going to do. The man looked towards the place where the spoon had fallen and then frowned down at Harry. "That wasn't very nice, young man. You need to eat!"  
  
Sirius summoned a clean spoon and tried again, only to find himself covered in cereal when the whole bowl was emptied on his head.  
  
"Harry!" Sirius was now getting angry. "That's enough! If you don't eat, I'll get your father to feed you."  
  
Sirius regretted those words as soon as they left his mouth; he felt Harry tense and try to get away from him. Quickly, he tightened his grip on the boy's waist and kept him close to him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. But please, Harry, you haven't eaten in days, I'm really worried."  
  
Cautiously, Sirius tried again and this time Harry didn't move, he simply ate without uttering a word. Finally, when he thought he was going to burst, he moved his head away, refusing to eat anything more. Sirius sighed a bit, he didn't think the boy had eaten enough, but seeing the detached look in his godson's eyes, he decided he had pushed him enough and made the bowl disappear to the kitchen. As gently as possible, he lowered Harry back into his bed and looked sadly as the teen curled up without sparing him a glance. Sighing again, he leaned over the bed and carefully brushed his lips on the boy's forehead.  
  
"Get some rest, we'll be downstairs, call us if you need anything."  
  
Harry's only answer was a small nod, and Sirius turned to leave.  
  
To be continued.  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews, and special thanks to my beta-reader, Vinnie. 


	20. Troubled feelings

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate  
  
Hermione was sitting quietly in her bed trying to read one of her school books; she needed to get all thoughts out of her mind, else the images from that day would drive her insane. She tried once more to really concentrate on the text before her, but the vision of all those dead children, and, most important, the dead form of her guardian was starting to get to her. Finally, she closed the book with a sigh. This wasn't working. Standing up, she slowly put on a robe and silently walked out of her room. There was no need to let the adults know that she wasn't resting like she had been told to do. She quickly entered Ron's bedroom, closing the door after her. Her red-haired friend was sitting in a chair next to the window; he looked up when he heard the door close. They looked at each other silently, understanding the loneliness the other was feeling at the moment. Ron stood up slowly, and went to hug her. Soon they were both lying on the bed, simply taking comfort in each other. Some time later a third form joined them on the bed. Harry curled up at Hermione's back and relaxed when he felt Ron's arms reach out to him.  
  
Ron's sleepy voice ran through their heads. 'Are you alright?'  
  
Harry smiled slightly, closing his eyes. 'I don't know. I'm tired, and I feel lost.' He paused for a moment, 'so lost.'  
  
Phoenix nodded and moved so she was lying on her back, with her two best friends pressed against her sides. 'I know how you feel. We need to do something about it before it becomes too much. I don't want a repeat of Christmas, we owe it to Professor Villje.'  
  
Ron nodded. 'Yes. But we'll need help. You know as good as I do that we won't manage this on our own.'  
  
They stayed silent for a few moments, trying to think about who they could ask for help. Hermione sighed. 'Let's see, who knows enough about us to help us?'  
  
Harry opened one eye and regarded his friends' still form. 'Sirius.'  
  
Hermione shook her head slightly. 'He has too many problems of his own; we need someone who can stay strong.'  
  
Ron sat up slightly, propping his head up with his elbow. 'Your parents, Harry.'  
  
The boy snorted. 'Not a chance in hell am I going to trust them again.'  
  
The other two teens frowned; they understood that Harry didn't feel comfortable around them. But, on the other hand, he had forgiven Sirius for something similar. That last thought leaked through to Harry, who also frowned. 'It was different with Sirius.'  
  
Griffin and Phoenix looked at him with raised eyebrows, and the girl spoke. 'How so?'  
  
Harry thought for a moment. 'I guess it's just that I know Sirius much better, and I understand why he suspected me. After all, everyone said we had done it. But my 'parents' not only didn't listen to me, they also ignored everyone else. Even Dumbledore! How can they even pretend to care about anyone if they are not ready to listen?'  
  
They stayed silent for a while, thinking about what the other boy had said. Finally, Ron nodded in acceptance; after all Harry might need some time to come accept them. 'So your parents and Sirius are out. There's my parents, but they have enough things to worry about.'  
  
Phoenix nodded. 'My parents wouldn't help either, they are usually too busy, and they don't really know the two of you.'  
  
Both boys nodded and Harry spoke. 'Well, that leaves Remus and any other teacher at Hogwarts.'  
  
Ron frowned. 'You can rule the other teachers out; there's no way I'm going to confide in McGonagall or Snape.'  
  
Phoenix raised an eyebrow. 'What about Dumbledore?'  
  
Dragon snorted. 'Thanks, but no thanks; he would just give us a pat on the head, a lemon drop and send us on our way.' He stayed silent. 'Madam Pomfrey would be okay, but she's a bit too forceful for my taste.'  
  
Griffin nodded. 'That leaves Remus.'  
  
Hermione suddenly sat up. 'No, not only Remus. We also have Dr. Matt.'  
  
Harry frowned. 'But, Phoenix, he doesn't know anything about the wizarding world.'  
  
The girl lay back down. 'I know, but is that really necessary? Does he really need to know about us being wizards to understand us? He has done a damn good job so far without needing to know it.'  
  
Griffin lay back down. 'Besides, we can also talk to Remus; he may not know us as well as Dr. Matt, but he certainly understands more about magic than our dear doctor does.'  
  
The other two teens nodded. They stayed in silence after that, just enjoying the quiet and comfort coming from their friends.  
  
When Remus came up to check on the children, he was worried when he didn't see Harry and Hermione in their rooms. Walking into Ron's room, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of the three sleeping teens curled up against each other on the bed. Trying to not make any sound, he took a blanket out of one of the closets and covered the sleeping trio with it. He was about to walk out of the room, when Ron opened one eye and looked sleepily at him.  
  
"Professor?"  
  
Remus brought a finger to his lips. "Shh, go back to sleep, Ron."  
  
The teen shook his head lightly. "Professor, could you call Doctor Matt?" Looking at his sleeping friends, he added, "We need someone to talk to."  
  
The man nodded in understanding. "I will take care of it, Ron. Now go back to sleep, you need your rest."  
  
The teen simply closed his eyes again and relaxed against Phoenix. When Remus was sure that he was asleep, he left the room and went downstairs where Sirius was reading the paper, and James and Lily were talking quietly with each other. They all looked up when he came in. Sirius put the paper aside. "Are they sleeping?"  
  
Remus nodded slightly. "They are sleeping together in Ron's room." Sirius raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "Ron asked me to call that doctor they go to, Doctor Matt. Any idea how to do that?"  
  
Lily chuckled softly and went to the phone. "Does anyone know his phone number?" Seeing the three men staring blankly at her, she rolled her eyes and started to look through the papers lying next to the phone. She soon came up with a little booklet. Looking in it, she searched for a Dr. Matt, and when she found the number, she picked up the phone and called him.  
  
To be continued.  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews, and special thanks to my beta-reader, Vinnie. 


	21. Dr Matt's help

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
Dr. Matt had been sitting peacefully in his office chair, reading a book, when the phone call came. If he had to be truthful with himself, he had been waiting for it. He hadn't seen the children since the incident at the school, and he had been growing worried about them, especially when he heard about Daleila's death. On the other hand, he hadn't wanted to intrude into their home, since he didn't even know if they were still there, or even who was taking care of them.  
  
Getting dressed, the man thought once again at the young voice that had talked with him, he couldn't help but wonder who it had been. Probably one of the children's relatives, and from what he knew, that would only add to their stress since the last he knew was that they didn't really get along.  
  
It took him barely ten minutes to reach the house. He hadn't even been able to ring the bell when a young man opened the door. They stared at each other for a few moments before the man stepped aside and invited him to come in. They stayed in silence for a long moment, until Dr. Matt broke the silence.  
  
"Good evening, I'm Dr. Matt."  
  
The young man blinked and then blushed slightly, realizing that he had been staring at the man. "Sorry, I'm James Potter."  
  
The doctor raised an eyebrow. "So, you're related to Dragon."  
  
The younger man nodded slightly, and led the way towards the stairs. "Yes, I am." James looked uncomfortable, and Matt couldn't help but wonder what kind of relationship was between the teen and this young man. Before he could ask, the younger man motioned to the stairs. "They are upstairs, all sleeping in Ron's room. They have not been feeling well; they helped defend some students that day, and they're still recovering."  
  
Dr. Matt nodded slightly and started to climb up the stairs. It was not the first time he had been here, and he knew his way around. The doctor looked back towards the younger man when he noticed that he wasn't being followed. "Don't you want to come with me?"  
  
James looked up a bit startled, but then shook his head. "No, I don't think it would be a very good idea at the moment." He paused for a moment before adding. "Harry is not very happy with us. Not that I blame him, he has every right to loathe us, but we just. Never mind, it would just be uncomfortable for Harry to have me there, believe me."  
  
Without another word, the man turned around and entered the living room, leaving a slightly puzzled doctor behind him. Wondering what that all had been about, Dr. Matt climbed up the remaining stairs and went towards one of the closed doors. Knocking softly, he waited for an answer, but it didn't come. Silently, he pushed the door open and pecked inside, only to find his patients sleeping comfortably on the bed. As quietly as he could, he entered the room, closing the door behind him. The old man sat down in one of the chairs and studied the youths, waiting patiently until they awoke.  
  
Finally, after an hour of waiting, he decided to wake them up, since he could hardly wait all evening.  
  
**********************************************+  
  
A gentle hand shaking his shoulder woke Harry up. Opening his eyes groggily, he was surprised to see Dr. Matt standing over him, a concerned look in his eyes. Blinking, he sat up and nudged Phoenix, who was lying next to him on the bed. The girl didn't wake up; instead, she turned and buried her head in Griffin's shoulder. Sighing, Harry tried again, while the doctor silently sat down in a chair, trying to determine how the children were holding up. Finally, Dragon decided to speak since shaking the girl wasn't really working.  
  
"Phoenix, wake up, Dr. Matt is here."  
  
The girl didn't move, but the words managed to make Griffin wake up.  
  
"Dragon? What's wrong?"  
  
Harry leaned against the wall, starting to shake Hermione again. "Nothing's wrong, Griffin, but Phoenix needs to wake up; Dr Matt is here, and I assume he wishes to speak with us."  
  
Ron looked towards the old man, who nodded in agreement. Turning towards the sleeping girl, he placed a hand on her shoulder and bend down to talk softly in her ear.  
  
"Come on, Phoenix, wake up, you can go back to sleep later."  
  
Finally, Hermione opened her eyes and looked groggily up at her friends.  
  
"I was having such a nice dream."  
  
Both young men chuckled softly and helped her sit up between them. Finally, when they were comfortably settled down, they all turned to face their doctor. The man stood up, and went to sit at the foot of the bed so he could comfortably see the three of them.  
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
As one, they answered: "Fine."  
  
Dr. Matt raised an eyebrow sceptically. "I'll try this again. How are you feeling?"  
  
The three teens pouted a bit; even if they had known they wouldn't get away with such an answer, they had to try. Sighing, Hermione leaned against Harry's shoulder. "Confused, hurt, lonely, tired, I don't really know; it's hard to tell."  
  
Both boys nodded in agreement and Harry put an arm around his friend. Dr. Matt nodded gently. "That's understandable, you've lost a very important part of your life."  
  
For a few hours, they continued to talk quietly about all that had happened. The three teens had to be very careful about what they said; they couldn't let their doctor find out about magic, but that fact made it hard to relax, and the man could see they weren't really going anywhere. Finally, he called a halt and told the teens to rest for a while so he could talk to their guardians.  
  
The trio didn't seem to mind, and they laid back together on Ron's bed, ready to sleep a bit more.  
  
When Doctor Matt was sure they were deeply asleep, he walked back down the stairs and towards the living room. He was pretty sure that the adults would be there. He was a bit surprised when he saw six people sitting there. The young man, who had greeted him at the door, stood up from his place besides the redheaded woman and invited him in.  
  
"Dr. Matt, I would like to introduce to you my wife, Lily Potter." The woman smiled sadly towards him. The James motioned for the other two young men standing together in a corner. "They are our friends, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, who is also Harry's godfather."  
  
Doctor Matt looked at the last one with curiosity, Dragon had told him a bit about him. The young boy seemed to be very fond of the man. His attention was drawn once again, when James introduced the old man to him. "This is Albus Dumbledore, he is the Headmaster of Hogwarts, where the children used to go before coming here."  
  
Doctor Matt wasn't sure how he felt about the man. He was very old, yet he stood straight and his eyes shone brightly, showing great intelligence. What bothered him the most was the strange clothing the man was wearing, he wasn't sure what to think about the bright purple robes. The last one to be introduced was another redheaded woman, Molly Weasley, who turned out to be Griffin's mother.  
  
Once everyone had been introduced and tea had been served, Dr. Matt looked around, a bit unsure on how he should talk to these strange people. He was spared the trouble of breaking the silence when Dragon's godfather spoke.  
  
"How are the children doing, Doctor?"  
  
The man looked at him intently, seeing the worry in his bright blue eyes. Sighing, he put the cup down and leaned back into his chair.  
  
"The talk I had with them didn't really help much. They're sad, close to depressed, but it's not as bad as it used to be. They're very well aware of their limitations and know that they need all the help they can get. That's a very good things, because the first step to help someone is for them to accept that they need the help."  
  
Dumbledore nodded, he knew this very well from all his work with the children. "And yet, you just said it didn't really help."  
  
The doctor looked at him once again. "They are keeping things from me. They always have, but before now, it wasn't really a problem because I could help them without knowing. But this is no longer the case. I'm not sure what they are keeping from me, but the longer we spoke the more tense they became, and that's not really any use."  
  
Doctor Matt stayed silent after this, he could clearly see that everyone in the room knew what the children were keeping from him, and he wondered if they would trust him enough to tell. Finally, the oldest man looked up with a very serious face.  
  
"What I am going to tell you will probably be a very big shock to you, I need you to promise me you will not tell anyone about it."  
  
The younger people looked up sharply at the headmaster. The redheaded woman started to speak softly. "Albus, are you sure it's wise to tell him?"  
  
The old man looked at her sadly. "The children need his help, Molly. And he won't be able to help if he doesn't know." Before anyone could add anything else, the old man turned to face the doctor, eyes blue still serious.  
  
Dr. Matt looked at him curiously. "I am not sure I could keep this from my wife, if it's as important as you say it is."  
  
Dumbledore thought for a few moments, he was taking a huge risk in telling the man this, but he felt he could trust him, and he was not about to endanger the three teens again. Not if he could help it.  
  
Leaning back against his chair, Dumbledore nodded and started to speak softly. "Very well, Doctor. Tell me, do you believe in magic?"  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. And thanks to my beta-reader, Vinnie. 


	22. BOOM!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate  
  
Dr. Matt sat quietly on the couch, everything that the old man had told him sounded incredible. He would have doubted his sanity if he hadn't seen the calm, serious look in his eyes. Dr. Matt had worked with patients for many years, and even if most of them were not insane, he had come to recognize the signs of someone who wasn't really balanced. This odd man sitting calmly in front of him showed none of those signs. Yet...  
  
"Can you prove it to me? You'll understand that I don't know what to think about this."  
  
The old man smiled gently, understanding the doctor's confusion. He took out a stick, which Dr. Matt assumed was his wand, and with a small swish, the cups that Lily had brought were refilled with steaming hot tea. With slightly trembling hands, Dr. Matt took his cup again and sipped lightly, trying to make sure it wasn't an illusion. The tea certainly felt real enough, and the warmth coming from the cup helped to convince him that it was all real.  
  
"Incredible." The man looked around, focusing on the younger people, who, until now, had remained silent. "You all are wizards?"  
  
Griffin's mother nodded slightly. "Indeed."  
  
"And, of course, coming from magical families, Griffin, Dragon and Phoenix..."  
  
This time it was Remus who nodded. "Yes, they are wizards, too. But Hermione's family isn't magical, she's a daughter of muggles, as we call the non-magical folks."  
  
Dr. Matt's eyebrows shot up. "I didn't think that was even possible."  
  
Everyone laughed lightly at his disbelieving tone of voice. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling brightly when he answered. "You would be surprised to know just how much is possible." Then he continued, his tone a bit more serious. "Now that you know the basics, allow me to explain to you all I can about the children."  
  
************************  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione seemed to be sleeping peacefully on the red-head's bed, where Dr. Matt had left them. Suddenly, Harry began to frown in his sleep. A bright golden light shattered the darkness that had enveloped him for some time now. Harry could see it was still far away from where he was standing in the darkness, but now it was calling him, compelling him forward. Somehow, he knew it was very important to reach it, and slowly, he started to run towards it. It didn't take long until he heard footsteps matching his own, and looking slightly to his side, he was able to see his tall friend running at his right. Soon, they were joined by Phoenix, who ran at Griffin's other side. As soon as she reached them, the golden light in front of them exploded, causing them to stop and cover his or her eyes.  
  
Finally, after what seemed like hours, Griffin was able to open his eyes, and was not very surprised to see the Great Phoenix hovering in front of them. Before any of them could ask what was going on, the magnificent bird spoke in their heads, his usual soft voice sounding strained. "Wake up and get out of the house. Now! Death Eaters have managed to tamper with the wards and are going to blow the house up."  
  
Before they were even able to question his words, they found themselves bolting up in bed. Without a glance at each other, Phoenix dashed out of the room, knowing she had to warn everyone else, and Dragon and Griffin joined their hands, uniting their magic to gather all their things as quick as possible.  
  
*************************  
  
They were speaking about what exactly had happened at Greenings when they heard footsteps running down the stairs. Knowing it could only be one of the children, Remus and Molly got up frowning, wondering what could have happened. They didn't get the chance to even take a step. Hermione slammed the door open and ran in, barely blinking at the sight of her doctor sitting comfortably with her ex-headmaster.  
  
"Get out of this house!"  
  
Everyone merely blinked at her as she rushed through the room, picking the few things that were in the living room. Sensing that no one was moving, she turned around scowling darkly and went to grab Dr.Matt's wrist who had by now stood up with everyone else.  
  
"Phoenix..."  
  
The old doctor was looking down at her, wondering what was going on and if she was feeling well. The girl didn't give him a chance to ask any of the questions that plagued his mind. "I said, leave! Apparate to Hogsmeade!" When they still didn't move, she snapped, "Now!" And tightening her grip on Dr. Matt, she disapparated from the living room, knowing that Ron and Harry would follow her when everyone else had left.  
  
Instead of going to Hogsmeade as she had told everyone else to do, she went to Dr. Matt's house, startling Mrs. Matt when they appeared in the living room out of thin air. The poor woman screamed and dropped her tea cup, shattering in a thousand pieces. Dr. Matt immediately went to her side and tried to comfort her. Things were too strange right now to properly explain, and he needed to calm his wife down, all the while keeping an eye on Phoenix, who had quickly moved towards one of the windows. Before he could gather himself enough to question her, two soft pops were heard in the living room, followed by a loud explosion coming from outside.  
  
Hermione looked through the window as flames and smoke rose from the place where her house had once been. Leaning against the window, she looked slightly behind her, to where Griffin and Dragon had appeared seconds before, papers and books stacked in their arms. The girl sighed, reassured that her friends were fine, and returned her gaze to the window.  
  
"Did everyone leave the house in time?"  
  
Dragon placed the papers on the nearest table and nodded slightly. "Yes, everyone left before us. We could hear them arguing, so I'm going to guess some of them were quite unwilling to go, but we sensed them apparating away. Where did you tell them, they should go?"  
  
"Hogsmeade, it was the first place that came to my mind."  
  
Harry sighed. "I better go and tell them that we're fine, some of them might want to apparate back."  
  
Griffin, who had joined Phoenix by the window, looked back at him. "Do you want me to go instead?"  
  
Harry thought about it for a few seconds but then shook his head, knowing the only way to reassure his godfather was to stand in front of him unharmed. "No, don't worry, I'll be fine."  
  
The last thing Harry heard before apparatting away, was Mrs. Matt's shrill voice demanding to know what had happened.  
  
To be continued.  
  
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, and special thanks to my beta-reader, Vinnie.  
  
Something else, and I'm just going to say it once. I have no idea when I'll be able to read Ootp, because here in Spain it won't come out until Christmas, so even if I manage to get a copy in English, I'll just keep writing my fics as I planned them out, if you don't like it, just stop reading.  
  
Have fun,  
  
Polaris 


	23. Explanations

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
Blinking slightly, Harry looked around, trying to determine where exactly he had apparated. He could tell he was in a dark alley, so he slowly walked out of it, and he found himself face to face with the building of the Three Broomsticks. Smiling slightly, he entered the place. It was still as full and busy as it had been when he attended Hogwarts. He headed towards Madam Rosmerta, who was serving a few clients. The woman noticed him before he even had the chance to reach her and grabbed his arm, dragging him away from the other customers.  
  
"Is there something wrong, Madam?"  
  
The woman turned lightly to face him. "They are waiting for you. The Headmaster told me that should you or one of your friends appear, I had to lead them to the back room at once."  
  
Harry nodded in understanding, grateful to Dumbledore for thinking ahead and ensuring a bit of privacy. He had a feeling he would have to explain a lot, and he wasn't sure he wanted to tell them the whole truth. The Great Phoenix and their nightmares were very useful, but he didn't wish for anyone to know of them. Knowing Dumbledore as he did, the old man would probably manipulate him to get information and that was one thing Harry didn't wish to have to go through. He was abruptly shaken out of his thoughts when Madam Rosmerta opened a door and quickly shoved him into the room behind it. He barely had the time to hear the door click shut behind him when he had arms around his neck. Blinking in surprise, he looked down and saw his mother's red hair resting against his shoulder. His first reaction was to pull away, but when he was about to move, he felt his mother trembling and a soft sob reached his ears. Cursing at himself, he knew he would not be able to pull away. No matter how much they had hurt him, he wouldn't be able to keep his distance for much longer. This was what he had longed for all his life, to be hugged and loved by his parents. Sure, he had Sirius, and in most ways, he was more of a father to him than James and Lily ever would, but somehow, he knew it was different. Now that Sirius was free, Harry assumed he would like to build a life on his own, finding someone to marry and have kids. After all, he was still young enough to do so. Even if Harry knew that his godfather wouldn't abandon him, he knew he would stand in his way, and that was the last thing the teen wished.  
  
Hesitantly, the young man put his arms around his mother and squeezed her waist tightly before pulling back. Getting the hint, Lily let go of him, but Harry could see the happiness glowing in her eyes. Sure, he hadn't done much, but the little hug he had just given her was enough to reassured her that things would be okay with time. Dragon looked around, and after nodding slightly to his father, he moved into his godfather's arms. Sirius readily hugged him, and started to whisper in his ear, telling him how worried he had been and how Harry would be grounded if he ever did something like that again.  
  
His quiet tirade was interrupted by Dumbledore's voice. "I'm happy to see you're unharmed, Harry. Where are your friends?"  
  
The boy looked up from his godfather's shoulder and looked around the room. "They are at Doctor Matt's house, we needed to get to the doctor's home, and then explain to them what had happened."  
  
Remus looked at him sharply. "Now there's something I would like to know too."  
  
Harry grimaced a bit. "We got a... warning... it said Death Eaters were about to blow up the house. I apologise for any rude comment Phoenix may have made, but we needed to get you out of there."  
  
Harry felt the arms around him tighten. Looking up, he saw that Sirius had paled, and he was shaking a bit. Everyone in the room was distraught by the news; most of them were very pale. Dumbledore looked at him with a frown. He probably knew there was something he wasn't telling them. "What kind of warning, Harry?"  
  
The boy turned to him and pursed his lips; he didn't want to tell them. The old headmaster seemingly got the hint and decided to leave it alone. "Very well, what are you planning to do now, Harry?"  
  
Dragon shrugged slightly; they hadn't had the chance to discuss it yet, they had been too tired and weary to talk about the future. Everyone seemed to notice it and Sirius tightened his grip on the boy. "You shouldn't be up and about, you're still tired."  
  
Harry didn't argue with him, knowing it was true; instead he leaned against his broad chest. "I know, but I still need to get back to the others."  
  
Sirius sighed and scoped him up in his arms, making Harry's eyes widen. "Come on, I'll bring you there."  
  
Harry didn't even have the chance to argue with him, because with a soft pop, they apparated away.  
  
The other adults stayed where they were, each lost in thought. Finally, Lily turned to Dumbledore. "What do you think they are going to do, Headmaster?"  
  
The old man shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I have no idea, Lily. I hope they will finally accept my offer to return to Hogwarts, but it's completely up to them, we have no right to pressure them into it."  
  
The woman nodded and slumped in her chair, knowing there was nothing she could do.  
  
To be continued...  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. Thanks to my beta-reader, Vinnie. 


	24. The parting

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate.  
  
That night, lying safely at Doctor Matt's house, the three teenagers dreamed again. The Phoenix once again waited until they had approached him and then spoke softly. "I'm glad you're safe." The three teens nodded absently, wondering what he wanted now. "I'm sorry to say that the time has come for you to make an important decision."  
  
The three teenagers tensed at those words, what could the ancient phoenix mean? The bird looked at them for a long moment, then he spoke again. "The three of you have had the nightmare about Hogwarts, have you not?"  
  
Exchanging a glance, they nodded.  
  
"It was a small glance into the future, and I fear that that is what's going to happen if you return to Hogwarts with your loved ones. You see, from the moment I healed you all those months ago, you gained a lot of power from me. You're powerful on your own right, of course, but my powers have been added to yours, making you formidable wizards. But as you have noticed, you still lack the control to use all that power safely. There's no one at Hogwarts that will be able to help you, for they would not understand it. They have taught you everything they could, now I'm afraid it's time to move on."  
  
They looked at each other and then Hermione spoke. "Where should we go then, Grand Phoenix?"  
  
The bright bird looked at them for a long moment. "There are many places around the world that teaches things not commonly known at Hogwarts; you need to find them, and I'm afraid you'll need to do it alone."  
  
Dragon winced. "So I have to leave Sirius again?"  
  
Another long silence fell upon the group. "You misunderstood; when I said on your own, I meant it literally. The three of you are too dependent on each other, you each have your own qualities and while one place may be right for you, Dragon, it might not be right for Phoenix or for Griffin."  
  
The three teenagers paled. Griffin hugged his arms around himself. "You want us to separate? You want each of us to go to some strange place alone?"  
  
The Phoenix seemed to sigh while looking at their pale and scared faces. "I'm afraid so; I wish it could be different, I wish I could say you can take your time, but it's not true. You have less than six months to prepare for the final battle, and this time it will be for real, either you or Voldemort will die. You need to train at your fullest, you need to be ready, and you will only stand in each others way if you go together."  
  
Reluctantly, they nodded in understanding. He had a point of course, the reason they worked so well together was because they complemented together. Griffin couldn't imagine himself studying and reading like Phoenix did, even if he had become much better at it. Nor could he imagine himself sitting silently on his own, trying to control his power as Dragon often had done. The bird was right; he just couldn't study the same way his friends did. They would have to go alone. Looking over at his friends, he saw that they had reached the same conclusion. Finally, it was Harry who spoke. "Very well, you're right, even if we don't like it. Are you at least going to tell us where we need to go?"  
  
The bird seemed pleased at those words and nodded his golden head gently. "Phoenix, your strength rests in your intelligence; there are many important wizarding civilizations that have existed over the years. One of the most powerful were the Mayas; I trust you've heard about them."  
  
The girl nodded, an excited glint started to shine in her eyes. "Their magic was powerful, and I think it will suit you very well. There are several ancient temples that have not been tampered with by muggles. As a Phoenix you should be able to reach them without trouble, the wards that guard them were never meant to keep phoenixes away. There you will find what you need." After the girl nodded, he turned to Griffin. "My fiery warrior, you strength rests in strategy, for that you shall travel throughout Europe. Rome and Greece have hosted some of the strongest magical armies; go there, their old wizarding world remembers all their past glory, and they will be able to help you improve for their magic is not only organized, it's also powerful and hot tempered, much like you are."  
  
Ron nodded; a little relieved he wouldn't be going too far away. Finally, the Grand Phoenix turned to Harry. "Dragon, the powerful one, your teachers await you at the ancient country of China. Their knowledge is vast and they know how to properly deal with powers like yours. You will be able to learn a lot of their secrets as long as you remain willing to share your own. There are many schools there, they are much older than Hogwarts and their teachings are very different. Go there, young Dragon."  
  
Once the dark-haired boy had nodded, the Grand Phoenix bowed towards them and they awakened abruptly.  
  
Panting, they sat up in their bed, looked at each other in a mix of fear and anticipation. The fact that they were going to learn some of the most ancient secrets their world had to show was only shadowed by the fact that they would have to leave their brothers, their family, behind. Phoenix suddenly hugged them hard. "I know we have to do this, but I don't want to, I'm going to miss you so much. I don't want to be alone."  
  
Harry returned her hug and gently tapped her temple. "We're not alone, never alone." Then he smiled. 'No matter where we are, we will always be together."  
  
The other two nodded while hugging each other tighter. Griffin then spoke again. "When are we going to leave?"  
  
The girl looked at them for a long moment. "My guess is in a few days, we still need to recover all our strength."  
  
But Harry shook his head. "If we stay we'll have to tell Dumbledore, and you know he'll never allow us to go on our own. Not to mention Sirius, Remus, Griffin's parents, and even my parents. If we stay we'll be shipped off to Hogwarts before we know it, and they have every legal right to do that."  
  
Hermione looked at him disturbed. "You want us to leave without saying anything to anyone?"  
  
Harry looked uncomfortable and slipped out of their arms. "I can't see them, especially Sirius, or I'm not going to be leaving anytime soon. Please understand."  
  
Hermione stood up and went to hug him from behind. "We do understand."  
  
Ron nodded and stood at their side. "Then leave, Dragon."  
  
The boy looked at his friends for a long moment, and then drew them in a hug. "I'm going to miss you both."  
  
The other two didn't answer, they just stayed still for a long moment, and then backed away. With a small movement of the hand, Harry had packed all his things in a small bag. Then he silently got dressed in comfortable muggles clothes. Once he was ready, he turned his gaze towards his friends.  
  
"We'll meet up at Hogwarts a week before the end of term, ok?"  
  
They both nodded and Phoenix smiled. "Take care of yourself, Dragon."  
  
The boy nodded and hugged her. "You too, Phoenix." Then he turned to Griffin. "Take care, brother."  
  
The taller boy smiled. "I will. Do you want me to say anything to Sirius?"  
  
Harry thought about it for a few moments and then shook his head. "No, just tell him I'll be back and that I'll write to him as soon as I can." After a moment of hesitation, he added, "Tell my mother and father that I love them, and that I'll see them in six months."  
  
The other boy patted his shoulder gently. "I will."  
  
Without another word, Harry disapparated, leaving his two friends behind. Ron and Hermione stood silently side-by-side. Finally, Phoenix turned around and went to sit on the bed.  
  
"Will everything turn out ok, Griffin?"  
  
The boy shrugged. "That depends on us, Phoenix, and I will do as much as I can to ensure that we succeed."  
  
The girl nodded, a small smile on her face, and lay back on the bed. "I'm going to sleep a while longer before leaving."  
  
Ron smiled and joined her on the bed. It was going to be a hard time, but if they succeeded, they were going to have peace at last.  
  
The end.  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews and for my beta reader, Vinnie. Before you ask, yes, there's going to be a sequel, I have no idea when but it will come out. There's still going to be the epilogue but after that it might take a while before I continue with this fic. 


	25. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
  
Fate: Epilogue.  
  
When Sirius woke up the next morning, he saw Hedwig sitting on the table near his bed. Looking at the owl, he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. And that something had to have involved Harry. Slowly, the dark haired man sat up and watched intently as the owl flew to him, extending the letter she was carrying. Sighing, Sirius took the offered letter and opened it carefully.  
  
Dear Sirius,  
  
Yes, I know I said I would never do something like this again, but I really had little choice in the matter. For some time now, Griffin, Phoenix, and I have been following the Great Phoenix's suggestions. The other day, it saved not only our live but also yours since he was the one who warned us of the Death Eater's attack. Knowing that following what he says is for the best, we're once again going to do what he says. Through the last year the three of us have grown into power, but we need to learn how to control it better. Something like what happened in Greenings cannot happen again. So we have no choice but to leave for a while.   
  
Ron will be travelling through Rome and Greece; Phoenix will be spending the next few months overseas, learning the old Maya's culture. And I am going to China, one of the most ancient countries.  
  
I know this is going to upset you, and I'm sorry about it, but it can't be avoided. The last battle is drawing nearer, Siri, and I promise that we'll all be there to fight alongside you.  
  
I'll see you in a few months, Godfather.  
  
Take care,  
  
Dragon.  
  
PS: Tell my parents that we'll talk when I'm back; I guess that by then I'll be over the hurt, and I'll be able to talk rationally about what happened.   
  
Sirius read the letter twice before crumpling it and throwing it across the room. Sighing, he fell back against the pillows. He needed to tell Dumbledore and the others; if Harry said the last battle was approaching, they needed to get ready. Closing his eyes, he tried to imagine what his godson was doing at the moment. Knowing him, he was probably working his ass off, trying to learn all he could and prepare himself for the upcoming battle. Snapping his eyes open, Sirius stood up abruptly and went to get dressed. He needed to get going and warn the others, they needed to start planning. They would be ready when the trio returned and they would fight alongside them.   
  
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000  
  
Deep in a jungle, a golden phoenix landed in front of a big building in ruins. With a soft pop, the magnificent bird changed into a young teenager girl. She was wearing comfortable shorts and a dark green shirt. It was very hot, but the girl was too interested in the building to notice. Taking out a map from the bag she had been carrying, the teen looked at it for a long moment and smiled before turning towards the building. With a flick of her wrist, the entrance was cleared from the fallen debris and she was able to walk in, strengthening the walls while she walked. Half an hour of walking through the falling ruins was rewarded when she arrived at a large room filled with scrolls. The girl let her bag fall to the floor and smiled, there was a lot to learn here, and she would learn all she could.  
  
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000  
  
Yawning, the red headed boy stood up and went to wash up. He had arrived at the camp ten hours ago, and he was already exhausted. He had gone through some physical and magical tests before he was accepted at the Greek School of Ancient War. It had taken him three days to find out it would be the best way to learn all he needed to know. Unlike his friend, he had not enough discipline to learn on his own, so he had immediately looked for a school that would serve his own purpose. After the tests, he had been put in the higher grade and told that the next day would start his training. Now it was five in the morning and he was ready to start; he needed to become the best, his friends needed to be able to lean on him, and he was not going to let them down.  
  
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000  
  
He could feel it. For the first time in his life, he could clearly feel his power running through his veins. It was really enormous, much larger than he had ever expected. But it was not enough; his new sensei had made it very clear that without control, all that power was useless. The old man had taken him in immediately after he told him he wished to learn to use his power to the fullest. It was hard, trying to hold all that power in check and only use a small part of it to serve his purpose, but he was going to succeed. He needed to; because he knew that he would hurt people if he were careless. His sensei was looking at him, he could feel his deep blue eyes fixed on his back, and slowly, he let go of the feeling of power and returned to the light trance he needed to hear what the man wanted him to do. Opening his eyes, he looked at the old man who would take care of his training and he took reassurance from the stern look he had. Yes, the old sensei knew what he was doing, and he would trust him to get him ready for the battle. This time, it was really going to be the last battle.  
  
The end.  
  
A/N: Thanks for all reviews, and thanks to my beta reader, Vinnie.  
  
Well, I've been nominated in the category for Best Author in The Harry Potter Fanfiction.net Fan Fiction Awards, anyone who wishes to vote go to:   
  
http://groups.msn.com/TheHarryPotterFanfiction-netFanFictionAwards/theballotcomevote.msnw  
  
Polaris 


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